


When Ends Meet

by Kakarot_Son



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Action, Crime Fighting, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Humor, Matchmaker Erasa, One-Sided Attraction, Post-High School, Romance, Saiyaman is goofy, Slight Cannon divergence, Videl falls for Saiyaman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-10
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-01-18 21:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1443205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kakarot_Son/pseuds/Kakarot_Son
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A wacky scheme to stop the media's speculation about her love life has Videl pretending that Saiyaman is her boyfriend but as she begins to unravel the man behind the mask, a cunning plot threatens to consume her and the shroud of uncertainty surrounding her future whole.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"And it seems that even Satan City's very own heartthrob, Videl Satan was unable to prevent herself from being blown away by the charming good looks of the wealthy Azel Castrol! After seeing each other for the last few months, it has been reported that they are now officially in a relationship."

"I don't know about you Candice, but I certainly think that this is a match ma-" Videl pressed the off button on the remote before tossing it away in frustration as the TV shut off.

"Grr..." she grit her teeth, "when are they going to stop with all this nonsense?"

"Well it's been a few months now and they've still not let up," her blonde, bleary-eyed friend replied before trailing off in a dreamy tone. "It's not like they could've chosen a hotter guy though..."

"You've met him!" exclaimed Videl incredulously, "You know how much of a jerk that guy is."

"But sometimes being a jerk's a good thing..." said Erasa, almost lost within a fantasy world of her own. "Why don't you accept his offer to go on a date sometime, Vi? I mean I'm sure he'd take you to the best restaurant on the planet with all the money his family has."

"He could take me all the way to heaven and I wouldn't care," said Videl stubbornly. "Besides, we're rich enough to go to any place they can!"

"Actually, Cloudes Magazine says that they've almost triple your dad's net worth," informed Erasa, causing Videl's face to redden slightly.

"I still don't care," protested Videl. "Money's overrated anyway, I just want the damn press to stop  _speculating_ on my love life with this douchebag."

"You know, no matter how much or in what way you deny it, they're not going to care," said Erasa, a bored tone to her voice.

"So what?" questioned Videl, "It's not like these things don't fade after a while."

"If you feel content with waiting out the rest of the year and then having people constantly bring it back up, sure," Erasa blew on her nail gently.

"W-What..." stuttered Videl at a loss for words, before sighing slightly. "Okay then, what should I do to get them off my back?"

"Find a boyfriend."

Videl blinked a few times in rapid succession before looking at the blonde girl as though she had grown a second head. "How would that help?"

"Simple," answered Erasa, her voice picking up as a smirk began to form on her face. "You find a boyfriend, all these rumours go away, you dump your 'boyfriend' and we all live happily ever after."

"Wha-no, I'd never date someone just for something like that..." Videl massaged her temples knowing that she was nowhere near superficial enough to go along with something like that, "And besides, it's not like I'd manage to find a boyfriend anyway."

"Take it that's a 'yes', then?" Erasa's eyes shimmered, "And don't worry about the boyfriend bit, you can count on me to find one."

"Erasa," interrupted Videl, sighing as the blonde ignored her, lost in a list of potential boyfriends. "Erasa!" snapped Videl, gaining her friends attention.

"What?" asked the girl sheepishly as she grinned.

"I don't want a stripper to be my boyfriend," said Videl dryly as the blond girl deflated a little.

"Awww..." she sighed, before perking up slightly. "Wait, I think I've got it."

"Got it?" questioned Videl, unsure of what exactly the blonde girl meant.

"Yeah, got it," reaffirmed Erasa as she stared into the Satan girl's eyes. "You want to get the press off your back, right?"

"Right," nodded Videl cautiously, not having the slightest clue of where the girl intended to take this.

"Well why don't we pursue someone who's already an expert at dodging the press?" Erasa asked, going on a hunch.

"And who would that be?" queried Videl as she decided to humour her friend.

"Saiyaman, of course," said Erasa as though she'd had a stroke of genius. As Videl's face instantly paled, Erasa explained, "Think about it, people are always trying to shove recording devices into the guy's face... and plus, he can keep a secret too!"

"You can't be serious," lamented Videl. "I've had enough trouble just attempting to corner him, what makes you think that I'll even get close enough to him for starters? And that's not even taking what's under that helmet of his into account... what if he's some freaky old man?"

"You worry too much," laughed Erasa. "Besides, there's gotta be a reason that you've been trying to chase after him all this while."

"I'm still not convinced," huffed Videl. "How exactly do you expect this to work?"

"Just trust me," Erasa grinned. "Now the first step is to set up some form of a meeting with him..."

…

Videl nervously rubbed her lips together, the small amount of velvet red lipstick that coated them spreading further. Her knees were rigid yet shaking horribly at the same time while her stomach felt as though it was walking backwards across a tightrope above a flaming pit. All just for Saiyaman. The slutty dress that Erasa had pushed her to wear, the coaxing of the officers off duty to pretend that there was some sort of a crime occurring at the abandoned warehouse she was in... all just for Saiyaman.

Wobbling awkwardly over to a window in the highest pair of heels she had been able to find, Videl anxiously took a peek outside of it. There was quite a view, a horribly ugly one, but a far-reaching one, however she could see no sign of the caped crimefighter anywhere. Maybe he wasn't coming? Scolding herself for not thinking positively, Videl's gaze rose towards the dark, cloudy sky... perhaps he was somewhere amongst them, fighting his way through the light drizzle to reach the fictional hostage situation?

Resisting the urge to fiddle with her hair - Erasa had all but forced her to have it done at a salon - the Satan girl felt a twinge of guilt surface as she continued to stare outside. Was this really that good an idea, to have him come through all the rain? It would almost certainly put a damper on his mood, nobody liked the rain when they had somewhere to be, but what if he got sick just for her damn ploy? She knew that there were many things worse than attempting to seduce her co-crimefighter, who she still refused to acknowledge, but honestly... what kind of a person did that?

Videl liked to think she wasn't a bad person. Sure, she beat up the young and misguided on occasion, but generally she devoted a fair chunk of her time to putting evil doers behind bars. However the thought of using someone for her own personal gain didn't sit well with her. Wishing that she had a bottle of water on hand, Videl gulped.

It wasn't that she had never used people before, she was quite sure that every human being had. But she'd never even attempted to do something even remotely close to what she was attempting. It went against everything she believed in, what society expected of her and her dad's wishes. And that was why, despite some small amount of guilt she would have to push to the back of her mind, she  _absolutely_ , one-hundred per cent wanted… no, needed to do it. Every time one of her knees wobbled, her excited heart beat faster. Every time her stomach felt anxious, her gut lusted for the moment even more. Every time her mind told her it wasn't a good idea, her heart pushed her forward with even more might.

Brushing her hands down her skimpy blue dress in order to straighten it out, she twiddled her thumbs as she waited. She was on her own now. Erasa had made that much clear, and there was no backing out now since she was bound to get an earful from her best friend if some kind of juicy kiss didn't occur.

The drumming in her heart increased slowly, as though it were a piece of music beginning to reach its crescendo. She took in the room around her, everything needed to be just right - anything less would mean that she would be going home empty handed tonight. The lighting was just dim enough for her to see the creamy walls that she had been leaning against mere minutes ago but it was bright enough to almost bring a sense of alluring warmth to the place. The gentle pitter-patter of the rain outside dribbling away against the window was like a child playing on a xylophone: so inconstant but so innocently pure, whereas the room was almost drenched in the stench of the expensive perfume that Videl had put on. She hadn't been all too keen on that at first, but she'd convinced herself that it - a sixteenth birthday present from her father - would be a good finishing touch. The pig-tailed girl just hoped that her  _boyfriend to be_  liked the aroma of rich strawberries and chocolate, if not she hoped that helmet of his did a convincing job of blocking out the smell.

She felt excited, nervous for sure, but excited nonetheless. She was ready and now all she had to do was wait, then maybe she'd finally get rid of the burden on her back that had been the rich oil company owner's son. Potentially sneaking in a look at the face that was under Saiyaman's cartoonish helmet was just the icing on the cake.

Azel Castrol was one of those people that you wished you had never been unfortunate enough to meet. He was a collected young man, rather cocky too, and had a sleek aura about him - the dirty kind. His father was nice enough, she supposed, although that was only going on her own father's words and as much as she respected her father, it wasn't extremely difficult to fool him with a facade. Things hadn't been all too bad until a few years ago, back when she had hit puberty and started seeing boys in a slightly different light. As far as she had been concerned up until fifteen anyone of said gender was a pompous, ill-mannered asshole… then things had changed. Evidently they had for Azel, her somewhat good childhood acquaintance, too. And their parents, ever the observant ones, had taken it upon themselves to attempt to merge their two  _empires_  and push the two together.

Videl wasn't exactly as naive as some of the people she knew, but she was ashamed to admit that she'd been clueless about Azel's romantic advances in the first few weeks. Soon after, she had managed to snap into her senses and sought out her father to have a deep, long-winded chat about the situation. Fortunately, he immediately realised that Videl really had no intentions to pursue the relationship and decided to leave it at that.

The Castrols on the other hand… not quite. They had been milking the situation for all it was worth; with such a monopoly on the oil market Mackenzie Castrol, Azel's father, had more than a few contacts in high places within the media. Hercule did too, but freelance journalists were more than happy to discuss the latest developments in the non-existent relationship between herself and her childhood  _sweetheart_.

Even though the window was shut, a swift breeze blew over Videl, catching her at an odd moment as she was wrapped up in her thoughts. The cool air gently blew over the back of her dress, teasing and touching her bare back and tickling her nerves as she realised what a sudden 'gust' of wind meant.

"M-Ms. V-Videl," the high-pitched voice of the dorky superhero rang out from behind her, catching her ears as goosebumps sprung across her arms. "A-Are you in need of any assistance?"

Her legs turned to jelly. The manly tenor of his voice just added all that much more to the situation, as she quivered slightly. This was it.

"Ms. Videl?" he questioned again, more insistently in the hopes of drawing out a response.

"I-I'm just fine," she whispered in a hush tone as she slowly spun around on her heels. His cape was soaking wet, his humongous green tunic drenched and water was still slowly dribbling off his helmet.  _Drip_ , _drop._

Her cheeks almost lit on fire as she turned around to fully face him, her body feeling so revealing that she may as well have been standing stark naked in the room. Total silence met her as she stared into his moist, black visor, and even though she couldn't see through it, the crime fighter knew that their eyes had locked.

At first it was as though they were in some kind of a deadlock, neither able to even move a muscle away or toward the other for a few agonizingly long seconds, before Videl shyly threw her gaze to the ground. It was a rather cheap looking timber flooring that probably hadn't been polished for the better part of the last decade, there was no doubt that her high heels had left small indents all over it. Her burning cheeks slowly faded to a rosy pink blush that she could almost  _feel_  as his voice reverberated through the empty room.

"Y-You smell nice, Ms. Videl," he complimented, stuttering to find the right words almost as though he were on a pilgrim to find them.

"Just call me Videl," she bit down gently on her bottom lip gently in a manner that she hoped he found cute, uncaring for the small amounts of lipstick that slowly smeared itself onto the back of her pearly, white teeth.

Once again they caught themselves stuck looking the eyes of the other person - Videl had to imagine it, but that merely added more to the mystery - and Videl took a slow, but sure step forward. He grinned, the usual dorkish bravado and confidence he showed gone, as he inched forward just a little too, clearly just as nervous as she was.

"Alright," said Saiyaman, the superhero  _tone_ to his voice having vanished like a candle that had been put out. He was soft spoken, his voice much more gentle than the pigtailed girl had dared to expect, however that just made her even more flustered. "You look nice, Videl," he teased with a little more confidence, his body language showing that he was well aware that he had complimented her on a different thing… why did he seem so… so… perfect all of a sudden?  _Drip_ , _drop_.

"I-I've been wanting to do this for a long time," she lied although a certain part of her wasn't sure if she really was.

"Have you?" his gentle, normal voice asked with childlike amusement. If her legs had been like jelly before, they were almost certainly like pudding now.

Little shrills dancing around her skin, Videl took another nervous step forward. Her perception of time had been shot out the window but that didn't stop her from feeling as slow as a turtle as she slowly reached closer to him. All of a sudden, she broke out of the trance-like state that she had fallen into as she realised that she was standing mere centimeters away from  _him_.

His hot breath drawled across her face, smelling of the purest mint, as it created contrast with the damp atmosphere of the room and sent a flurry of emotions crashing through her body. It wasn't anything like Videl had ever felt before… all these feelings, the uneasiness in her stomach, the thumping that felt like it would break her chest, the dizzy spell floating inside her head; they all felt as though they were crashing against any opening they could find. Her breathing quickened rapidly, now almost fast enough to beat her heartbeat in a race, as she slowly eased herself forward.

For some reason everything else didn't seem to matter anymore. Azel, Erasa, her father, the media… all she was focussed on was the mysterious man in front of her. He was nervous too, she realised as she dropped both her hands on his shoulders, but he was handling it in a mystifyingly calm manner.

Videl subconsciously entwined her fingers together behind his back, leading him with her lively cerulean irises as he almost hesitatingly reached for her hips and grasped them with two firm, gloved hands. Her mind was too clustered to think, her body too hot to move from the awkward position it was in, but that did not deter her from greeting the cold lips of Saiyaman with her own red ones.

And then it felt as though every feeling that had been building up within her for the past half an hour exploded with more strength than any bomb could. Her stomach tightened a little, almost constricting itself, as she pulled him closer, pushing her tongue to his lips with little hesitation. His mouth widened as though his lips had merely been the gate which guarded a wonderful treasure and her tongue gently met with another so warm that it would put a volcano to shame. Everything felt surreal as every single emotion that she had ever experienced was washed aside by the... amazing feeling that the simple action generated. His own steamy, hot tongue pressed back against hers with a surprising amount of strength yet in a manner so gentle it felt like her hands were being warmed by a campfire. Like two novices nervously dancing for the very first time, like two great waves far in the middle of the sea on a stormy night, their tongues crashed against each other once more with a passion so great that Videl couldn't even  _describe_  it.

...


	2. Chapter 2

Videl gasped for air as they broke away, her body still as flustered as a farm animal on a hot day. She panted slightly as Saiyaman stared at her inquisitively through that black visor of his, the irises that she could just barely make out dancing with curiosity.

"V-Videl," he stuttered, unable to find the right words. "W-What's goin…"

"Sssh," she said gently yet not seductively. Videl was still overblown with emotions herself, that felt like everything she had wanted it to be and then so,  _so_ much more. His mouth tasted of a cool minty flavour but it had stilled filled her body with a lukewarm feeling when her own mouth had touched it. "There's nothing to worry about."

"I don't understand…" Saiyaman shook his head confused, clearly still worried about the faux crime she had used to lure him in. "Where's the thug, where's the hostage? A-Are the kids-"

"There aren't any," Videl admitted bluntly as she bit her tongue, hoping that he wouldn't be too mad. "I've been trying to confront you for months now, Saiyaman, the only method left…"

"Was to pretend there was a crime scene so I'd show up," he nodded slightly. "I get it… but w-what was that?"

"What was what?" she smirked playfully, knowing almost full well what he was referring to.

"This," he said flabbergasted as he waved his hands around, motioning towards the two of them, "What we just  _did_."

"It's called a kiss," she chuckled sarcastically. It was a little ironic, she - the romantic dud, Videl Satan - was playing with someone for being naive.

"I know, I know…" he said laughing back playfully. She'd never known that he had such a wonderful laugh. "But… why?"

"I don't know," Videl shrugged a little as nonchalant as a goldfish. "I guess I kinda like you," she twisted the truth a little. Honestly, Videl didn't really feel any kind of attraction to anyone that wasn't physical but at the same time she was a little glad that Saiyaman was the one that Erasa had chosen for her little plan.

Even though Saiyaman was wearing a helmet, Videl could tell that his face was clearly doing its best impression of a fire hydrant. Funny, she never would've suspected a melodramatic moron like him to be the shy type. With a sigh Videl realised that she couldn't really blame him either, she wasn't exactly shy but that hadn't stopped her from avoiding anything slightly romantic for the last nineteen or so years.

"I-I guess I like you too, Ms. Satan," he bowed his head guiltily as though he had been caught stealing from the cookie jar red handed.

…

"Spare no detail," grinned Erasa as she laid back on the couch, her arms behind her head. "I'm sure he swept you up into those big, muscular arms of his and gave you the kiss of a lifetime as you flew through the clouds."

"Actually," corrected Videl, a small rosy blush rising to her face as she recollected the events, "it was inside."

"You mean it was raining and you missed the opportunity to have your first kiss in the rain?" Erasa groaned before sighing and letting it pass. "I guess I can forgive you for that, I'm proud that you finally kissed someone anyway."

"Well you know the background," Videl faced the ground nervously, these kind of things made her uncomfortable. "We pretended that there was a small hostage situation in an abandoned warehouse and you got me all dressed up."

"You were fighting me every step of the way, but I guess it worked out for the best huh?"

Videl nodded with a smile, "Yeah, so I spent forever waiting for him to show up while it began to drizzle a little on the outside… he finally showed up after around half an hour and we talked for a bit but he wasn't doing any of that superhero stuff-"

"Aww I bet he just forgot about everything when he saw you all dressed up and beautiful," squealed Erasa as she cuddled her hands to her cheeks. "That's so adorable, I'm sure he never even saw it coming!"

"I guess," Videl shrugged, she had no idea what had been going through his mind - hers had been too preoccupied with trying to get through the moment. "So after that we uhh… you know…"

"Kissed?" Erasa laughed as she took notice of the hot red colour that Videl's cheeks had adopted, "You make it seem like it's such a big deal, like you had sex or something."

"Well I'm sorry that we can't all hump anything that walks," Videl bit back roughly. Erasa stopped laughing and all of a sudden the tension escalated to the point where one could have heard ants moving. With a look at Erasa's quivering eyes, Videl lowered her head slowly, "I'm sorry… that was uncalled for."

"I guess you're kind of right though," Erasa sniffed slightly before rubbing her eyes. "Anyway, make it up to me by telling me the rest."

"Well we kissed… again, a few times, and then we stopped and talked for a bit," said Videl, a smile rising to her face. "He wasn't half as bad as I'd have expected him to be."

Erasa raised a pillow to her chest and cuddled it. "That's adorable, it sounds like somebody really enjoyed their first kiss."

Videl scowled slightly at the blonde but her heart wasn't in it. "So now… now what?"

"I'm not sure," shrugged Erasa. "What happened after you guys talked a little more, I'm guessing from the expression on your face that it didn't go much further?"

"Well… that was… awkward," admitted Videl, a very unbefitting blush rising to her cheekbones as she thought back to the moment. "He stumbled around for a bit before flying off the way he came."

"And you gave him your number like I told ya to, right?" asked Erasa.

"Uhh… no," Videl winced a little as she sheepishly avoided her friend's eyes. "Forgot about that."

"Well that sucks," pouted the blonde girl. "How are you guys going to set up your first date now?"

"What do you mean?" asked Videl questioningly, having not been privy to this part of the plan until now.

"How else do you expect to become an item?" questioned Erasa as she looked fixedly at the martial artist. "A kiss is like a baby beginning to crawl around, it's a start but you've got a long way to go before you can walk."

"I thought we were just trying to trick the media," Videl said as she reared up slightly. "Who cares about dates and all that mushy stuff?"

"Well Saiyaman's going to think this is real, and for him - and by proxy the media - to think it's real, you're going to have to act like it's real," Erasa giggled a little at her friend's naivety.

"I'm beginning to think that maybe this wasn't that great an idea," admitted Videl as she shot Erasa a sceptical look. She hadn't mentioned that earlier.

"Pfft, you'll come around when you realise how good it is to have a little romance in your life," Erasa stuck her tongue out. "Anyway so how exactly do you propose you bump into Saiyaman next? Probably not the best idea to jump on him during a bank robbery and I doubt we'd be able to get away with having another false hostage situation."

"Damn it, I wish I hadn't forgotten to give my number to him," cursed Videl in frustration. "I guess I'll just have to hope I run into him sooner or later: Saiyaman seems to be there every step of the way."

"Sounds like a plan," grinned Erasa. "I'm sure it'll work out in the end."

…

"Hey sweet pea," said Hercule with a smile as he reached the living room.

"Hey dad, " the girl responded nonchalantly, turning her head away from the television. "Did that press conference go well?"

"I guess you could say that," he muttered. "At least we finally announced our new line of martial arts items."

Videl grinned slightly, she knew just as well as her father that the items her father had released weren't all that special. Over the years he'd slowly transformed from the world's foremost martial artist to a businessman, something that had only been propelled by the fact that he was one of the world's most well known men. "Did those include the fingerless gloves that you showed me a while ago?"

One of her favourite crime fighting  _instruments_  were the prototype metal plated, fingerless gloves her father had given her on her nineteenth birthday. Most people wouldn't have been too happy to receive such a gift but Videl couldn't have been more glad, they definitely beat the car he had gotten her the previous year (mostly because she still hadn't gotten her driver's license - who needed one when they had a portable jet copter?).

"Nah, we're thinking about launching them next autumn," her father answered. "Anyways, there's this little dinner coming up next Sunday and I'd love it if my little girl could attend…"

"It's not another one of those boring city council dinners, is it?" Being celebrities, the two of them often found themselves invited to a whole array of social events.

"It's actually a pretty big event, the world's most renowned leaders and all that are all invited," said Hercule. "Some kind of breakthrough in a cleaner fuel source has been made and they're hoping to attract some attention from what I've gathered."

"Guess it makes sense, apparently Earth's days are numbered if we continue at the same rate we're going at now," said Videl, thinking back to a project she had once done in geography class. "Do you reckon I could bring Erasa along?"

"Shouldn't be a problem," Hercule nodded. "I'm sure you'll have a great time, it would be embarrassing for me to turn out without you after all."

"Well I'm sure that when I finally beat you at the next world tournament you'll be a lot more embarrassed," the girl playfully stuck her tongue out at her father.

"Keep dreaming honey."

…

Videl hurried along the pavement, giving chase to a car that was outspeeding her with ease. She had never been much of a runner despite the fact that she was renowned for her speed as a fighter, and it was beginning to show as the hover car put a fair amount of distance between itself and her.

She had been caught relatively off guard, having just finished a meal at a nearby café, when the orange car had zipped right past her in an erratic manner. It was a miracle that it hadn't already crashed into something. Being an honorary member of the city's police force, it was her responsibility to pursue the driver.

The Satan girl paused, realising that the chase was futile. Bending over on her knees and panting heavily, she frowned as she also found that she could not make out them retreating vehicle's number plate - she could only hope that one of the nearby pedestrians had seen it.

It would have been the perfect moment for Saiyaman to come swooping in a force the car to halt in its tracks, but alas no caped crusader appeared. Having finally caught her breath, she broke into a light jog as she tried to pursue the car's path; she probably wouldn't catch it but hopefully she'd at least be able to see what kind of damage it did.

It was then that the orange vehicle swerved into a nearby street light and came to a sudden halt. As she came closer to the car, she winced slightly as she saw that the airbag on the driver's side had inflated and buried the driver's face within it. Silently, she found herself hoping that when she managed to pry the man out from the car she wouldn't be staring a corpse. Even though the man had been driving like an idiot and endangering others lives, he still did not deserve to die.

Knowing that each second was now crucial, she picked up the pace and raced towards the vehicle. The street light had smashed straight through the front part - the bumper she presumed, Videl didn't claim to know much about cars - and more. Though she expected the car's alarm to go off, it didn't for some reason she couldn't quite understand.

The crimefighter quickly set to work, opening the driver's door and attempting to get rid of the airbag so she could have a look at the driver. After struggling for a few moments with the bag, she calmed herself and remembered that it needed to be pulled straight out. Once she did so, she was a little relieved to see that there wasn't much blood - there was a nasty, but not gory, cut on the upper left of the man's forehead and his nose looked as though it was broken. She didn't bother with checking to see if the man was conscious or not and quickly put a hand towards the man's chest.

After a few moment's of brief tension, she was glad to find that it was slowly rising and falling. That meant he was breathing at the very least - though she knew how to do it, administering CPR would be difficult in the driver's current position.

The girl glanced around uncertain of what to do next. A small crowd of bystanders had gathered, many of which had evidently already dialed for the ambulance, but Videl knew that even that wouldn't necessarily be quick enough. She could drag the man out of the car but without fully knowing what injuries he had, that could result in some unfortunate repercussions. The black-haired crimefighter could just envision something painful having happened the man's spinal cord.

"Let me handle this." The voice was unmistakable. Only Saiyaman had the corny yet commanding voice that she had brought herself to trust over the past few months of fighting crime with the man. "I need you all to step away."

Vide was unsure of whether or not that included her or if it was the best idea to comply. Just because he was a modern day superhero did not mean that he was aware of the necessary procedures in a situation like this. He was not a police officer so he almost certainly didn't have the mandatory training that went with it.

She found herself acting as an intermediary between the masked man and the crowd, telling them to back off a little bit. The Satan girl figured that she was close enough to prevent him from doing anything stupid but also far away enough to not add pressure on him. The bystanders murmured a little before complying with her instructions and taking a few steps away from the incident.

"Is anyone here a doctor or a nurse?" asked Videl, hoping that there was someone a little more qualified than two crimefighters amongst the crowd. Luck didn't appear to be on her side as no-one spoke up.

Instead the crowd seemed to be a little more fixated on what Saiyaman was doing. Videl held her arms out to prevent any curious members of the public from advancing while glancing back herself, also somewhat curious as to what the first man she had ever kissed was up to. Being closer than any of the bystanders, she could make out that the helmet wearing man had crouched down. Saiyaman extended a hand to the likely unconscious driver as though he were feeding the man despite the fact that she could not see anything within his white glove.

Videl found her face going pale as she saw the superhero lift the man from the car as though he were a weightless doll. Was he aware of just how dangerous that was?

"He should come around in a minute or two," said Saiyaman as he placed the reckless driver down on the ground. "You guys should probably get him checked out by paramedics though."

Videl's eyes weren't focussing on Saiyaman, however. The wound on his forehead seemed to have vanished, like it had never even existed, and upon further inspection, even his nose's shape seemed to have straightened. The crimefighter suddenly snapped out of her dazzlement as she realised that she had more important things to talk to Saiyaman about - now that the man was "fine". She'd be damned if she let him slip away again, she needed to establish some other form of interaction; preferably one that did not include an injured driver or a hostage situation.

There was still a bit of distance between Saiyaman and the crowd, who were still standing at bay a few metres back from the incident. Quickly using her headstart to her advantage, she made her way towards Saiyaman as the crowd drew closer to the driver. It wasn't as though she could blame them, the fact that he had come out of the car unharmed was almost miraculous - though she wasn't sure if any of them knew that he had been injured within it.

"I've been meaning to talk to you," said Videl, staring intently at Saiyaman's barely-visible eyes through his polished visor.

"I have been too."

...

 


	3. Chapter 3

Saiyaman gestured away from the crowd that had gathered. "Let's go somewhere where we have a little more… privacy."

"Agreed," said Videl with a grin. Even though she definitely intended to publicise her relationship with Saiyaman, she was in no way ready to do that at the present moment.

The two crimefighters managed to slip away from the crowd, relatively unnoticed, and found a street corner that didn't have many pedestrians around it.

"So, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" asked Saiyaman, before murmuring, "Ladies first."

"I-I uhh," Videl stammered a little before clenching her fists and spitting out the rest of her sentence confidently, "wanted to give you my phone number so that we could stay in contact. Y'know, figured that since we fight bad guys together and with what happened… between us… the other day, it'd be a good idea for you to be able to get in touch with me."

She could see a complentative look on the man's face.

"Your phone number?" he repeated questioningly. "I-I guess it couldn't hurt too much, it's just that I don't have a cell phone."

"I'm sure you can manage something," said Videl eagerly as she grabbed a pen and a piece of paper out of her pocket. Placing the piece of paper on her extended knee, she quickly scrawled her phone number onto the piece of paper. "So you wanted to talk to me about something as well, right?"

"Yeah," said the masked man, starting to sound a little unsure of himself. "I just wanted to talk about what happened the other day with that... kiss and all that."

Videl bit her lip. He wasn't going to tell him that he wasn't interested in her or something, was he? She didn't care all that much if he felt attracted to her but that would certainly throw a monkey wrench in the master plan that she and Erasa had devised. "What about it?"

"Uhh, I wanted to honestly ask you," he began, adopting a more stern tone, "if that was just a ploy to try and find out my real identity. I know that you don't like that I keep my face a secret from the public and I know that you've also tried to see what's under my helmet a few times, so…"

Videl's heart began to beat a little faster. When Erasa had discussed this plan with her earlier, the crimefighter had thought of discovering Saiyaman's identity as the 'icing on the cake'. But she couldn't let him know that, no sane person - except for possibly Erasa - would go out with someone who was clearly using them for ulterior motives. "No," she attempted to say convincingly in a half lie. "I… at first I found myself confused by your mysterious tendencies but I became more interested in you, the real  _you_ , rather than your identity; I don't care who the man behind the mask is. I promise you that I'm not after your real face."

She heard him breathe a sigh of relief as though a great burden had been lifted from his chest. "Phew, I'm sorry that I had to ask you that but I just needed to make sure," said Saiyaman with a small grin. He stood up a little straighter. "I guess I'll see you around, then."

"Wait!" exclaimed Videl, catching his attention before the man could fly off. She stuck out her right hand, the torn slip of paper still clenched within her grasp. "You've got to take my phone number, I can't wait forever to try and find you again."

"Alright," he said with a playful laugh as he accepted the piece of paper into his gloved hand. "It's been nice talking to you, I'll see you later."

Videl sighed gently as she saw the superhero take off and fly away to god-knows-where. The couldn't help but feel lucky that their conversation hadn't revealed her true intentions because that had been far too close for comfort. The crimefighter glanced at her watch.

2:25. She wasn't due home for quite a while and she didn't have much else to do for the day. The streets of Satan City seemed relatively peaceful and she doubted that the chief would call her in. That left her with one of two options: to either go home and train until she could no longer stand, or she could go find Erasa and work out what to do next.

Training seemed very tempting but it was the fact that she had no idea what to do the next time she ran into Saiyaman that made her choose the latter option. Was she meant to kiss him again? Ignore him? Invite the fighter over to her place? Videl was as clueless as toddler; she had never been in a situation like this before. Erasa would know though, she had done this stuff many times before - Videl had never understood her best friend's fascination with boys but she definitely wasn't ungrateful for it at the moment.

Reaching into her pocket, she paused for a second as she recalled a conversation she'd had with Erasa earlier in the morning. The blonde haired girl had said she was going over to Sharpner's place for a few hours during the day and though Videl hadn't been able to shake the feeling that there was something going on between the two blonds, she didn't allow that to dissuade her as she decapsulated her jet-copter, intent on finding the duo.

…

"I can't believe that you're actually trying to go out with Saiyaman," said Sharpner as he shook his head in disbelief. "After all the times I tried to get you to just give me a chance in high school."

"Aww don't mind Sharpy, he's just jealous that he doesn't have any superpowers," said Erasa playfully as she stuck out her tongue at the boy.

"It's not like I'm actually going to 'go out' with anyone," responded Videl swiftly. "It's just a facade to get the whole world off my back about Azel."

"That's still probably not going to stop," said Sharpner speculatively. "I mean rumours of a love triangle are just going to spring up instead."

"Not once they see just how in love Satan City's two protectors are," countered Erasa as she grinned. "Besides I think Videl's starting to develop a bit of a thing for  _Mr. Saiyaman_  anyway."

Videl fought hard to push back the blush which flushed her cheeks. It wasn't that Erasa's words were true rather that she was embarrassed by how preposterous they were. "Really?" asked the Satan girl as she crossed her arms across her chest. "What gave you that idea?"

"It's just a hunch I have," said Erasa with an all-too-happy smile before glancing towards her fellow blond. "So anyway, Sharpy, have you given any thought into what uni you want to go to?"

"Not really, no," the blond admitted. "I want to go pro with the whole baseball thing, coach says I have a lot of promise but I'm not sure if I want to complete my education first."

"I hear you loud and clear," said Videl as she groaned slightly. "I could either work full time with the cops or go to uni to get a degree so I can become a detective."

"Videl the detective," teased Erasa with a slight smirk. "It has a nice ring to it."

"Well what about you 'rasa?" asked Sharpner as he stifled a yawn. "You wanted to do something in fashion, right?"

"Yeah," said Erasa with a nod. "I'm looking at uni courses but I want to go travelling for a year before I start studying fashion design. I've been trying to save up and get a tiny bit of experience in the field by working at that hair salon."

"You could get a hundred other jobs that would pay more," stated Sharpner, having done research into the job market himself. Pursuing a professional baseball career was a lot of work and often, at least at the beginning, the money wasn't  _eye-grabbingly_  huge.

"I don't know Sharpy," said Erasa as she raised a polished fingernail up to her chin thoughtfully. "I like styling hair, in fact you should stop by some time, I'd love to put your hair in a nice little bow."

Videl laughed as the blond scowled. "Erasa's right, I'm quite sure your hair's longer than mine."

"Hah-hah," said Sharpner sarcastically as he looked to change the topic. "Didn't you say something about Mr. Satan wanting you to take over the reigns or something once?"

It took a moment for Videl to understand what the boy meant. "Oh yeah, that too. Dad wants me to kind of slowly replace him as he gets older. Y'know the next big world champ with all that comes with it - the business and everything."

"I could imagine," said Erasa with a sympathetic look on her face. "You poor thing."

"Are you kidding?" asked Sharpner, "That sounds like it would be awesome. Besides Videl loves fighting, right?"

"Yeah…"

…

"Dad?" called Videl as she stepped into her home. There was no answer. "Dad, I'm home."

A small amount of light was emanating from the dining room, clearly visible through the otherwise-unlit house. Videl knew that it wasn't the cleaner because the maid who cleaned the house for them liked to work in a brightly lit area. And besides it was too quiet - a low murmuring could be heard, quite different to the distinct sound of a vacuum cleaner.

She took a cautious step forward, unsure whether or not to call for her father again. As she walked closer to the dining room, the girl was able to hear low murmuring. Videl quickly recognised that there were two voices, one sounded like her father but she couldn't quite make out the other. Unsure of what to make of the situation, she anxiously took a few more steps forward.

"Ah Videl," said her father as his eyes fell towards her approaching form. He had a glass of whiskey raised in his hand, and swirled it contemplatively as he looked at her. "I was wondering when you'd join us."

Videl nodded in acknowledgement of her father's words before scanning the room for the other voice. Surprisingly, she found two other people in the room and when she recognised them, the girl wasn't very pleased at all. Azel and Mackenzie Castrol.

"It's great to see you again, Videl. What a fine, young lady you are growing up to be," said Mr. Castrol, Azel's father. "I'm sure your mother would be proud."

Videl bit her tongue. She didn't think very fondly of the Castrols after the whole romance fiasco that they had sparked and truthfully felt that neither of them had the  _right_  to mention her late mother, but the crimefighter also knew that now was not the time. She composed herself. "Thanks."

The Castrols were dressed rather formally, Videl noted, as Azel wordlessly nodded his head in a greeting. She begrudgingly returned the gesture. Videl had never had too much of a problem with the guy until she had been pushed to date him but that had formed a rift of sorts between the two childhood friends. He had slowly been becoming more of a jerk since age sixteen but that had been what drove the hammer into the nail for Videl.

"So you're probably wondering what we are doing in your house, correct?" asked Mackenzie. His voice, unlike that of his son, had always had an unrecognisable accent to it in Videl's eyes, a manner of speaking that just  _oozed_  of wealth. "Well my son is with me since he has to be trained for his eventual acquisition of the family business; I hear that Hercule intends to begin a similar process with you. But I digress, we are here because I have a business proposal for your father."

"Business proposal?" Videl repeated curiously as her eyes made their way towards her father.

He nodded. "Yes, it's a pretty intriguing one if I do say so myself."

Videl tried to ignore Azel's lingering eyes as she turned back to his father. "What kind of business proposal?"

"Ah the curious mind of a future entrepreneur, there is nothing quite like it!" he chuckled a little too excitedly. "As you know, I run a very successful oil business. Some liken it to a monopoly but I am of the opinion that such allegations originate from our more jealous competitors."

Videl sighed at the braggadocio that the old man exuberated. He was incredibly rich but probably twice as arrogant.

"Anyway, I think I shall cut to the chase. If you have not been keeping up to date with advancements in modern technology, a progressively increasing amount of 'green' energy sources have become available. To be truthful, alternative energy sources are nothing new, but their efficiency is something that has only just begun to pick up," said Mr. Castrol as he took a sip of the glass lying on the table in front of him. It was likely the same whiskey that her father was drinking. "I fear that these alternate forms of energy are going to become a threat to us when it comes to pricing."

"Yeah, that makes sense," said Videl as she began to pay more attention to the man. She was technically an honorary police officer and what her father's friend was beginning to talk about seemed as though it could potentially venture into illegal territory. It wasn't unheard of for people to sabotage their competitors.

"I'll warn you now, this is where it stops becoming so black and white," said Mackenzie with a slight smile, leading Videl to question whether that was meant to be a joke of some sort. "To keep up with our competitors' prices, I have devised a unique solution… outer space."

Videl's eyebrows quickly furrowed in confusion. She shot a quick look to her father who had a thoughtful look on his face but she could from his mannerisms that he had already heard this before. What was being said at the moment was just being repeated for her benefit.

"It sounds ridiculous, I know," said Mr. Castrol as he held out a hand as if to wave her fears away. "But believe me when I say that I am far from foolish, I have spent a lot of time and effort researching this and I believe it is a viable option."

"So then why do you need dad's help?" questioned Videl as she raised an eyebrow. The old man alone was probably richer than entire countries put together, and as successful as the Satan family were they didn't really hold a candle to the influential Castrols.

"I'm sure Azel can explain that for you," said Mackenzie dismissively as he turned towards Hercule. "Now that you are up to speed, young miss, I have business to talk with your father."

"Well… basically, the board of directors is hesitant to support dad," Azel explained quickly as Videl's eyes darted to him. "We need investors, but even then most of them are worried about this idea. They think it's crazy, that space is too dangerous - that it'll not yield the right results."

"So dad's just an investor, then?" asked Videl. "Can't you guys support this… idea by yourselves? I mean, if we're being blunt here, you guys have a lot more money than dad and I do."

"You know that money could be yours too one day," Azel began with a contemplative tone. A glare from Videl had him abandon that trail of thought. "Well, I'd imagine that your dad has a much larger say in the decisions of your family business than father and I do in ours. Ideally, we'd like your company to invest in this project. But even if that falls through and Mr. Satan has to make the investment himself, it will still be fairly beneficial given your father's public image. If anyone can sway more investors over to our side, he's the man."

"Then it's not a money issue?" Videl asked in confusion, she wasn't exactly following. Business-talk had always been something that the girl had found over complicated.

"It is, but it isn't," said the young heir. "I'm sure I could explain it to you later on if you're still confused."

"You do realise that things aren't going to back to how they were," said Videl bluntly as she frowned. "I'm not going to start hanging out with you again, Azel."

"I'm sure I could convince you to change your mind but that is irrelevant," said Azel with a smirk that she had come to hate. If there was one thing which helped to remind Videl that the man standing before her was no longer her childhood friend but an arrogant jerk, it was the expression currently upon his face. "You are coming to that event next Sunday, aren't you."

A puzzled look crossed Videl's face as the bitter thoughts running through her head disappeared. "Event?"

"Yeah, that big dinner coming up? According to dad, the world's most rich and influential people are going to be there."

"Oh yeah, I remember now, dad did mention it," said Videl in acknowledgement. "Something about an alternate fuel source, right? I bet that's what got you and the old geezer so riled up."

Azel's flushed red in either anger or embarrassment - Videl couldn't tell - but it returned to a more neutral shade once he realised that his father had not heard Videl's insulting words. "You'd think, but dad's been planning this whole space thing for a long while."

"It's a pretty weird idea, don't you think?" questioned Videl, "I mean it's pretty out ther-"

"That is the crux of my plan," Mr. Castrol's voice rose in volume, cutting Videl off, as the man began to stand up. "I'm afraid I have other affairs to attend to so we must take our leave, but I urge you to give my offer appropriate consideration."

Hercule took another sip of the glass of whiskey firmly grasped within his hand, savouring the taste of the cool liquid as he responded. "I'll think about it."

...

 


	4. Chapter 4

Videl nervously clutched Saiyaman's larger hand. "I'm sorry, I'm not really used to all this."

"Heh don't worry, I've never done anything like this before either," the superhero said as he returned the squeeze.

After much insistence from Erasa, Videl had finally relented and agreed to go out on a date with Saiyaman. Her blonde friend had been quick to suggest the movies or a fancy restaurant but Videl had shot her down - that would turn too many heads too quickly and even though her plan required the pair to catch the public eye, she needed to make sure Saiyaman was convinced first of all. After his cautious words the other day, Videl could tell that he wasn't entirely convinced that she was suddenly attracted to him.

It had been a few weeks since she had first kissed Saiyaman and Videl had been making slow progress with the man. In the few encounters that she'd had with her ' _crush_ ' since, she'd gotten to know a few interesting things. Apparently the strange techniques that he could use were not the 'tricks' that her father claimed them to be, but Videl wasn't so foolish as to believe the masked man. Then, it turned out that he apparently lived very far away from any major cities - she wasn't sure if there was any real truth to that though. He could fly or whatever, sure, but Saiyaman made it sound as though he flew halfway across the world on a day-to-day basis.

"I guess we're both new to this then," said Videl as she attempted to smile as she looked upon the stars. She felt that it came off a little forced but Saiyaman didn't call her on it.

"We'll be able to figure it out eventually," said Saiyaman, however Videl couldn't shake the feeling that his tone was a little uninterested. He wasn't on to her, was he? "So why don't you tell me a little more about yourself?"

"Says the mysterious crime fighter who won't even let me see his face," jabbed Videl before relenting. "There's really not all that much to know about me, I'm just Hercule Satan's boring old daughter."

"I know how that feels," said Saiyaman as he turned his head sideways to look at the girl as the  _couple_  laid on the slightly damp grass. "To live in the shadow of one of your parents…"

"Pfft, you can shoot blasts of energy and fly with the birds. I'm sure you couldn't have failed to live up to anyone's expectations," said Videl genuinely, even if she didn't believe the boy's own words.

"I don't think I'll ever live up to my dad," Saiyaman said with a slight shake of his head. "He's a great man, but we're getting off topic. You were telling me more about yourself?"

"Bleh, you know pretty much everything there is to know about me. I'm Videl Satan and I like to beat up criminals in my own time," Videl shrugged unsure just how much she wanted to reveal to the caped crusader.

"So you're a bit of a martial artist then?" Saiyaman asked in what she could only imagine was a joke. Even though she couldn't see through his black-visor which had fogged up a little due to the temperature, she could picture one of his eyebrows to be arched up high.

"Yeah, you can watch me on T.V. when I win the next World Martial Arts Tournament," she said cockily as she sat up a little abruptly.

Saiyaman whistled lowly. "You're going for a World Martial Arts Tournament title, you must be the real deal then."

"What kind of joke do you take me for?" Videl grit her teeth slightly, it felt as though he was toying with her. Inwardly she knew that she was allowing herself to get riled up but she wasn't going to let any clown to insult her fighting skills. "You wouldn't even be able to keep up with me in a fair fight."

"Really?" he asked with what seemed to be a snicker. He wasn't really behaving like the superhero that Erasa had convinced her to use - he didn't seem as anywhere near as nice. "Shall we see then?"

"You're on," said Videl with a grin as she leapt to her feet. She had been itching for a fight and this whole dating deal was definitely not her thing. "None of those bullshit tricks or anything though."

"Fine," he laughed a little as he stood up too, dwarfing her with his height. "No tricks, then."

"You seem pretty confident," stated Videl as she cracked a few knuckles before flicking both her pig-tails behind her shoulders. "Let's make this a little more interesting then. If I win, you have to tell me a bit more about yourself."

"And if you lose?" asked Saiyaman, an almost calculating look upon his face.

"I won't."

Saiyaman chuckled a little, looking amused, before beckoning her forward. "Alright then, give me your best shot."

Videl thrust a fist with her bodyweight behind it at the superhero, hoping to catch him off guard and shed the first blood of the match. Unfortunately, he saw it coming and sidestepped it with ease. The Satan girl quickly raised two hands in a cross to block the inevitable counter-strike but when it never came, she looked up in shock momentarily before capitalising on her fellow crime-fighter's mistake and leaping backwards where she had a bit more time to think.

She regarded him carefully under her watchful eye, waiting for him to try and attack her but he didn't budge an inch. Meeting his eyes in confusion, she was angered to see his mouth arched up in the slightest hint of a smile. Charging forward, she feinted with a faux strike to his left cheek before bring up her knee in an attempt to make contact with his gut, however he simply leaned back with ease causing her attack to fall short.

Regaining her balance by bringing her foot back to the grass, she rushed forward and aimed for his solar plexus - a weak spot close to his gut which would wind him if she made contact - but he gently caught her fist in his firm grasp.

"Godammit," Videl said in exasperation as she attempted to wriggle her hand free. Saiyaman let go without much of a protest before ducking below the attempted punch to his head he got as a 'thank you' from the girl. She grit her teeth in even more anger than before as she unleashed a flurry of quick strikes that had no real power behind them. She wasn't attempting to hurt him, no, she was just trying - and failing miserably - to break through his guard. But that wasn't working: each punch was evaded, each kick was sidestepped and anytime she got remotely close to making solid contact with him, he merely caught the offending limb in mid-air with such precision that he may as well have been picking a needle from a haystack.

"You can do better than this," said Saiyaman, his sentence more of a statement than anything, as it began to drizzle slightly.

"Just let me hit you!" grunted Videl in frustration as she attempted to hit him with a powerful roundhouse kick. As usual, he stepped to the side with ease as though she were moving in slow motion.

Videl took a deep breath as she surveyed the situation. ' _Calm down Videl, you're not going to get anywhere if you charge him like a bull.'_  This Saiyaman character was certainly faster than she was and even if she wasn't sure if super strength was one of his 'tricks' or not, she was willing to wager that he was probably stronger than she was. The one definite advantage she probably had over him was that she was an experienced martial artist - in the time she had fought alongside the goofy crimefighter, she had noticed that he never seemed to settle into any kind of stance or anything. He had probably not had any formal martial arts training which was in sharp contrast to her own education in the art, given that she had been learning from some of the best instructors in the world since age ten.

After calming herself, she slowly settled into a basic stance. It wasn't complex in anyway and traded obscurity for a sense of deliberate purpose. Her attacks would deal damage when they connected even if it would take a while - her father often referred to this style as the "slow and steady tortoise that wins the race" - and when that finally happened, she would be able to show this Saiyaman punk just who was boss. He was a nice guy from what she gathered, and even though she felt slightly remorseful for how she was planning to use him, he needed to know that she was the stronger of the duo.

With a grin, she moved forward to attack once more. Even though the spar felt like the most frustrating thing she had ever experienced, aside from one of Azel's little power trips, something about the whole situation felt good. Whether it was her newfound motivation to hit the masked boy or the electric sensation she felt when he managed to dodge a punch at the last second as rain danced upon the  _couple_ , she would never know.

One thing however was certain: this  _definitely_  beat going out to some fancy restaurant.

…

"So what do I do next?" asked Videl lazily as she lay over the couch.

"Well, I'd say it's probably time to take things public," said Erasa with a smirk on her face. "You guys might not have the chemistry of a couple down pat quite yet but the press don't have to know that."

"What?" exclaimed Videl in shock. "Already? We only came up with this plan like two weeks ago!" Videl could feel her face flushing with colour but she didn't really care, Erasa's suggestion was  _way_  too forward for her to even consider.

Erasa ran a perfectly manicured hand through her golden locks of hair. "C'mon Vi, you knew what you were getting into when we started this. You've got to go for it before you miss your chance."

"Miss my chance?" repeated Videl with a questioning tone to her voice. "We've got ages to pull this off and don't you think Saiyaman would get a little suspicious if we rushed into this?"

Erasa muttered something incomprehensible before sighing. "You kissed him two weeks ago Vi, you've gone out with him and you even tried to  _beat_  him up! If you don't do this soon, he's probably never going to want to go public with you."

"What do you mean?" Videl's glistening blue eyes shone in confusion. The girl knew next to nothing about relationships.

"Well, Videl, if there's one thing that we know about Saiyaman, it's that he's a secretive kinda guy," reasoned Erasa, continuing as she caught her best friend's eye. "How much does anyone know about him, other than that he's a bit of a goofball? Do you know his name? His age? Hell, you don't even know what's under that mask of his yet! He's obviously not the type of person that craves attention."

"I guess that's true," admitted Videl as she bowed her head. "You're right, he's like one big walking secret."

"Which means that he's definitely not going to  _want_  the media after him so your best bet is to imagine you're ripping off a leech and get it over and done with - go public before you two get too attached and you find yourself in a position where you have to explain yourself to him," advised Erasa as she turned on the television. "Ooh I love this movie."

"Well how do I even start to do any of that?" questioned Videl. "I mean, I'm not sure if you're aware but I've spent most my teenage life trying to evade the media… it's not exactly like I'm best buds with them. How would I even go about catching their eye?"

"You're  _Videl Satan_ , they already flock to you enough as it is, all you've got to do is get a bit of speculation going," Erasa said, rubbing her palms together as though she were a villain from a cartoon plotting something devious.

"And how do I approach Saiyaman about it, do I just tell him ' _hey I think it's time that we told the whole world that we're dating_ ' or something?" asked Videl as she shook her head. Erasa's plan was alright in theory but it would never work.

"Surprise him."

…

Videl spat a mixture of saliva and blood out of her mouth. Unexpectedly, a high-scale bank robbery had occurred - there were probably more goons in on the whole thing than there were officers in Satan City - and naturally, she had wound up in the middle of it. Saiyaman hadn't even shown up until almost the end, by which point she had to have taken out at least thirty people single handedly.

They had taken a few people hostage, and as much as Videl didn't want to think about the splatter of blood and brains on one of the walls of the bank, she knew that such things were apart of the job. While no one life was more valuable than another, she was at least thankful that she and Saiyaman had managed to get there in time to save the one young boy in the group of hostages. Siren's wailed loudly as Videl took a deep breath, finally willing herself to step back into the bank which still  _stank_ of blood and the metallic body armour of the thugs.

Surprisingly, Saiyaman had yet to fly off into the cloudy afternoon sky. He looked a little disturbed and appeared to be nodding his head awkwardly as a few police officers questioned him. Now that she thought about it, this was the first time that she had seen him witness a death - the first one that she had been unable to prevent ever since he had first shown up to fight crime alongside her.

"You did well, Videl," said a voice that she recognised to be the deputy chief of the police force as he clasped a hand on her shoulder. "I'd take the fact that not a even single one of those involved in the heist got away to be a victory, never mind the fact that you managed to save most of the hostages. Your actions may have not been enough to save that one poor soul but they definitely did save the others - something that the police would never have been able to do by themselves."

"It was Saiyaman," said Videl with a grunt, knowing that she could not take any of the credit. "They had me overwhelmed too, I was just stalling for time… without him I would have been toast."

"Everyone needs a helping hand from time to time Videl," the man, in his late twenties, said with wisdom beyond his age. "What matters today is that you gave it your all and that the people who were responsible for the young lad's death will pay."

"Thanks Liroh," said Videl in an attempt to end the conversation quickly. Just thinking about the dead man made her feel sick to her stomach. She took a deep breath, careful to not inhale through her nose to avoid the unbearable smell, before turning back towards Saiyaman. He was following a few police officers outside the building, undoubtedly either to finally make his departure or to help face the press outside.

It had been a long time since someone had died as a result of a crime in Satan City and people would undoubtedly have questions since the city's two foremost crime fighters were present at the crime scene.

"Hey," Videl said weakly as she made her way towards him, the corner of her eyes upon the police officers ahead of them.

"Hey," he responded, his voice a low monotone in contrast to the usual goofy inflexion she was used to hearing in his voice. "I'm glad that you're okay."

"M-Me too… I mean I'm glad that you weren't hurt too bad either," said Videl as she closed her eyes. She had to bring it up, just to know that he wasn't suffering on the inside because of her own incompetence. "I can't believe that this happened… there were so many thieves."

"I should have been here earlier," Saiyaman said quickly, cutting her off. "Thirty thugs is really pushing it, even for you."

"It's not your faul-"

"I know," said Saiyaman as he nodded his head quickly. "I'm not the one responsible for his death, those thugs are. And they will face justice for what they have done."

The slight curling of Saiyaman's lip that was just barely visible under his helmet betrayed his words. He didn't believe what he was saying and yet his words sounded so wise that she couldn't help but feel that he had dealt with death before. Maybe her first assessment had been wrong?

Her fellow police officers opened the door in front of the two crimefighters and suddenly they came face to face with a small horde of reporters. It seemed that they had gathered quickly since there had been very few when she had been outside not five minutes prior.

"Videl, what do you have to say about the young man who died here today?" a reporter asked as he pointed his microphone towards the girl.

"Saiyaman do you have anything to add? What do you think the motives of the gang responsible were?" another added before Videl could even get a word out.

"Were there any other injuries? Do you have any words to offer the citizens of Satan City as we all try to come to grips with this horrible tragedy?"

Videl took a deep breath, glancing towards Saiyaman who looked a little overwhelmed by all the questions, before responding. "What happened today was horrible and my thoughts go out to the deceased's family. I truly regret not being able to save him and while today is no doubt a dark day, we must do our best to keep sight of the light in these times."

The reporter who asked her the question nodded in understanding, gesturing for Videl to continue her speech as the cameraman lapped it all up.

Videl peeked at her fellow crimefighter once more. She gulped slightly before continuing what she was saying. "I hope that the young man who was taken before his time will be able to finally find peace in the heavens but as I was saying before, it's important to not lose track of the good things in light of horrible events like these. This is something that we can all get through… together."

With that, Videl quickly turned towards Saiyaman and pressed her lips firmly against his as so many cameras flashed that it looked like a meteor shower.

…

" _Caped Crusader Steals Crimefighter's Heart_ ," Erasa giggled as she showed Videl the front page of the magazine.

"I think I like this one better," said Videl, gesturing to the magazine in her own hands. " _Satan Swipes Saiyaman Away… Castrol Left for Dust._ "

"You did things in a pretty creative way," complimented Erasa. "I'd have never thought to turn the press away from a bad situation like that and now the whole dating thing is official. What did Saiyaman say about it all?"

"He was pretty flabbergasted so he stammered for a little bit before hightailing it out of there… I hope he's not too upset with me," said Videl remorsefully. The prospect of using someone for her own gain still did not appeal to her conscience.

"Aww… is our little Videl starting to reveal her hidden feelings for Saiyaman?" teased Erasa with a grin that only the blonde girl could conjure.

"No, of course not," scowled Videl. "It's just that if he's not happy about it, our plan might not work."

"Whatever you say," Erasa continued, attempting to sound as though she wasn't convinced. "I have to say though, that's  _twice_  you've kissed him now and two weeks ago I thought that you'd probably punch me for even suggesting it. I'm impressed Vi."

"It's not like it's that much of a big deal," Videl blushed slightly at the girl's praise. "And besides, I've only done it because I've had to. It's not like I  _wanted_  to kiss Saiyaman either of those times."

"So you're saying he's a bad kisser, then?" Erasa gasped. "That'll thrown a monkey-wrench in my plans to score off the rebound."

Videl's face briefly morphed one into one of disgust, appalled by the girl's thinking process, before she snapped out of it. "N-No, it's not that. I don't know if he's a 'good' kisser or a 'bad' kisser - I've never kissed anyone else - and he barely even kissed me back both times." That was a lie but Erasa didn't have to know it. "I just don't think this whole romance thing is down my alley; it's not as bad as I thought but I'm not suddenly enjoying it or something."

"You're just in denial," Erasa waved away her protests like she was blowing out a candle. "I mean just wait until you start properly noticing those muscles, you'll wonder how you were ever in doubt."

Videl sighed, knowing that if she gave Erasa a reason to the girl would carry on forever. "I think I'm fine thank you, I've seen enough body builders try to impress me because of my dad. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have to pick something out of my wardrobe for that big dinner meeting tomorrow night."

"Oooh, let me help you!" exclaimed Erasa as she eagerly volunteered. "What have you got in mind?"

"What you had me wearing to impress Saiyaman earlier, minus the heels, the hair and probably a lot of the makeup too," replied Videl. She wasn't that big a fan of the dress either but it was definitely more formal than the oversized white t-shirt she was accustomed to wearing.

"That won't do," Erasa shook her head. "Not at all. You can't wear the same thing twice, especially so soon after you wore it the first time. Remember that Saiyaman's probably going to end up seeing photos of the event and you don't want him thinking that you didn't go to the effort of dolling yourself up just for him."

Videl knew it was a fairly weak excuse and that the blonde just wanted to play fashionista but the Satan girl caved. If not as a 'thank you' to her friend for her help, just in case Saiyaman actually did end up seeing it. Besides, the girl reasoned, she didn't know his identity so for all she knew he could actually end up attending the event himself. "Fine."

"You won't regret it, when I'm done with you, even Azel will be fuming in jealousy," Erasa gave her best friend a toothy smile.

"I suppose if there's one good thing that came out of all of this, it's that Azel will finally have to get off my back."

…

Videl awkwardly sipped on a glass of water. She was one of the few people that were seated - most were standing up and mingling but the Satan girl had no interest in talking with a bunch of rich, stuck up snobs. Her dad hadn't been kidding when he had said that there would be important guests… a little to her right stood  _the_ Bulma Briefs conversing with some other rich person and to her left stood Former King Furry.

Mackenzie and her father were surrounded by a band of other accomplices and wealthy people within their own tax bracket. There were many tables and though there was designated seating, she could already tell that nobody would end up sitting in their assigned seats. She supposed it was for the best that she wasn't bored by her father's fancy business talk since he was meant to be sitting next to her. She just had to hope that everybody would leave her to her own devices and refrain from approaching her - not much to ask for in a room full of the world's most influential people.

The girl really wasn't sure why she had let her dad talk her into coming, it wasn't like alternate energy was something that interested her or anything. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she felt as though the dinner would not be too dissimilar to one of her geography classes back before she dropped the subject: important but extremely boring.

She brushed a loose strand of hair away from her eyes gently, careful to not ruin the hair-do Erasa had spent twenty minutes on. Her friend had talked her into wearing a backless white dress, complete with a pair of matching - but small - heels. When Videl had caught sight of herself in a mirror she had been pretty surprised, never had she thought that she'd be able to pull off a  _fancy_  look but she didn't look half bad. In fact, amongst all the other well dressed and primed-to-perfection people in the room, she looked right at home.

"I was wondering when I'd run into you."

Videl looked up sourly. It was Azel… of course it was. "I was praying you didn't."

"Aww, don't be like that Videl," said Azel with a grin - or a smirk, she couldn't really tell - in an ambiguous voice. A part of her knew that the man in front of her was her childhood friend who she had known for almost as long as Erasa while another was aware that he was just as likely teasing her.

"Why don't you go back to another one of your floozy-girlfriends," Videl said harshly. She wanted nothing more than to be rid of him.

"If you're getting jealous all you have to do is tell me," laughed Azel without missing a beat. "Even after all this time, I wouldn't mind taking you back."

"In your dreams," she said defiantly before sipping down some more water. Azel was alright normally but when it came to discussing their  _relationship_ , or lack thereof, he would transform into an intolerable jerk. Videl sighed before trying to take the conversation elsewhere. "So what do you think the big deal about this whole dinner thing is?"

"Alternate fuel sources are interesting things but they make up very little of the market share for energy. They've been closing the gap, yes, but it's like comparing an ant to a goliath," Azel recited, probably having been given the same spiel by his father. "They have very little support so they're hoping to secure a few big names."

"So how's that any different to what you guys want?" asked Videl as she attempted to understand it all. She was used to beating up thugs not business practices.

"Funding the acquisition of fuel from space is a lot more costly than rallying support, for one. We want money, they want endorsement," he shook his head. "Y'know, you must really try to understand these things if you want to inherit your father's image."

Videl snorted. "You're starting to sound like you inherited much more than you dad's image; I don't need another old fart lecturing me." A small silence overcame the two of them before Videl broke it once more. "So if they want support, why would they invite the likes of you?"

"It's standard practice, maybe they were hoping Father would have a change of heart and support the collapse of his own empire," Azel chuckled a little. "Nothing will come of it, naturally, though."

"So why's everyone here then?" There were plenty of faces that Videl recognised who wouldn't be caught dead endorsing alternate fuel.

"To check out the competition." Azel reached out for a glass of water as well. "If they've got something special to show, then these are the people who will want to be the first to know."

Videl nodded, figuring that Azel's words made some sense at the very least. "So do you reckon it's got a decent chance, green energy, that is?"

"I wouldn't invest in it if my life depended on it," said Azel with a smirk. Videl was sure that was mostly because of his family ties but raised an eyebrow as he explained. "We're far too big to be stopped now, even if they offer cheap prices we can go far cheaper and simply starve them out."

"So why don't you then?" asked Videl skeptically. What Azel was explaining, compicated as it was, made sense but she wasn't sure if she could completely believe his words.

"Did you never study economics?" asked Azel with a sigh. "For money of course,  _profit_. Why would we charge less for something when we can charge more for the same thing?"

Videl shook her head slightly. She couldn't really relate… her family had more money than she'd ever know what to do with, and the Castrols had more and  _then_  some, so she couldn't really understand what motivated them to keep on making money.

Suddenly the deafening noise of a loud explosion tore through the room as several windows shattered. Videl pulled Azel under the table and ducked as the distinct sound of gunshots rang out through the hall, accompanied by a few panicked screams.

"Welcome, everyone!" a voice, the source of which Videl could not identify from under the table, boomed. "You have ten minutes to turn over every person on this little list in my hand before I start killing the whole lot of you."

...


	5. Chapter 5

Videl ripped her heels from her feet and jumped up from her hiding spot under the table. Quickly surveying the situation, she was a little disheartened to notice that there were several thugs armed with machine guns - all pointed at various attendants of the big event.

"Not so fast," one of them said, pointing a gun towards Videl. "Don't think we forgot about you."

Videl grit her teeth. "What do you guys want? You can't hope to kill anyone in here and get away with it!" It was true. A common crook could probably get away with just shy of a decade in jail after killing a random civilian but if anyone were to lay a hand on one of the world's most powerful people, Videl didn't doubt that they they would never again see a single ray of sunshine in their lives.

"Listen to the boss man," said the thug, as he pointed towards a masked man in the middle of the hall, holding a small sheet of paper in one hand.

"First on this little list of mine is Mackenzie Castrol," boomed the leader. Videl could almost  _hear_  the grin in his voice. "Does anyone want to turn him over or should we just open fire once your time is up?"

Videl couldn't see where the old man had gone but if she had to take a guess, he was probably cowering under a table like most of the guests. Only a few had stood up and the Satan girl was a little surprised to see Azel rise slowly beside her. As he crouched a little under the table and took a small peek over it, Videl realised that he was probably a little wary of the fact that his father's name had just been called up.

"Next up is Mark Sterling," exclaimed the leader, still reading from his list. "Then, we're looking for…"

As the leader read the names of various prominent figures, Videl tried to look around the room for something that she could exploit - an opening, anything, that she could take advantage of. She was willing to bet that she would be able to take a couple of the goons out but there was nothing she could do to prevent them from opening fire on the civilians. That, and she wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell if they all turned their guns towards her at once.

She couldn't help but sigh with frustration as she tried and failed to find any of the security guards that should have been in the room. Either they'd all been taken out or the event had been rigged from the get-go.

"What do you want? Money?" asked the lady that Videl had been awestruck to see minutes ago, Bulma Briefs. "Name your price, I'll write you a check and we can all walk away from this peacefully."

"As tempting as that sounds," replied the leader. "We're not after money. We're here to cleanse the world of the cancer that has infected it."

Videl was a little far away from the two of them but was able to catch their attention with a yell. "So why aren't you killing everyone here, then? Isn't everyone here the scum of society and all that?"

Videl had run into this type of criminal before. He probably had a tough childhood, was raised in a poor area and was now looking to inflict pain upon the world's richest people. Nothing too out of the ordinary.

"Not really," replied the leader with a smirk as he looked down to his watch. "Seven minutes left."

"So then what do you want those people for?" Videl gestured over to the small and still-growing group of the cowering people whose names were on their intruder's list.

"I'm what's known as an eco-terrorist," explained the leader. "I'm doing all of you a favour by taking care of the very people who are forcing the people of Earth to destroy their planet for money."

"You're not going to get away with any of this," said Videl as she clenched her fingers. She didn't care what the guy's story was… what he was planning to do to the oil-rich attendants was very clear and she'd be damned if she allowed it.

Bulma seemed to have backed off a little. Her left hand was holding a small clutch-purse against her body while her right was pressing a mobile phone against her ear. Videl couldn't help but wonder just  _who_  the woman was calling because she was sure that the police were already very aware of the situation.

Her little terrorist friend seemed to have noticed too.

"You can call the police if you'd like," he taunted as he turned his wrist around, flaunting the face of his watch - a cheap, plastic looking thing - as if to say that there was no way they'd be able to do anything in time. "They're still not going to be able to save you though."

The blue-haired woman paused for a moment, turning her head and lifting the phone away from her ear to give him a toothy smile. It was quite unlike any smile Videl had seen before - not as deludedly arrogant as she would expect from Azel's father but nowhere near as genuine as a real smile. With that, the genius turned back to her phone and nonchalantly continued her conversation.

Videl tried to understand just what had transpired as the man fumed. With one very simple action, Bulma Briefs had turned the composed "eco-terrorist" before her into someone that looked so red that he might as well have been doing an impression of a fire hydrant.

"Five minutes," he muttered with a growl after a moment or two.

Videl blinked. Normally, she would've taken that as her queue to spring into action but now she was curious. Well, there was also the fact that there were several guns pointed towards many different people... she didn't want to chance being responsible for their early demise.

Not yet.

Not when it was so painfully obvious to her that the blue-haired woman was planning something. Given that she had been praised as a genius, the perfect combination of a scientific and business mind, Videl felt inclined to put her faith in her.

Had she been dealing with a bunch of everyday thugs, she might have been taken up the challenge of dodging a few hundred bullets. The difference was that these guys were the real deal. A normal crook didn't want to shoot someone, they normally pursued trivial things like money and used their guns as a way to scare people off. It seemed like these people had arrived with the intention to  _kill_  several people and that just wasn't something Videl couldn't risk.

"Four min-"

A loud crashing noise interrupted the would-be killer before her. A green figure emerged  _through_  a pane of glass as it crumbled into a shower of crystal shards behind him. Videl's blue eyes shined in recognition as she saw the fluttering, red cape and the corners of her mouth lifted in a smirk when the intruder settled into a pose in mid air.

Surprisingly, there were no overly-corny introductions. Videl supposed that was more or less because of the waves of bullets that immediately crashed into the modern-day superhero, but as she expected they merely bounced back off his body as though they were made of foam.

"Put your guns down and leave peacefully," warned Saiyaman. "I don't want to have to hurt anyone here. I am the protector of the weak, the savio-"

"Protector of the weak, huh?" grunted the leader of the eco-terrorists. "Some protector if you're going to try and fight the good guys."

"What do you mean?" Videl could hear the scepticism in Saiyaman's voice as his eyes narrowed. "You're trying to take all these innocent people hostage."

"Innocent?  _Innocent_?" the leader exclaimed with a snort, looking her  _boyfriend_  right in the eye. "Don't make me laugh! There are more toes on my feet than there are innocent people in this room. And these people know it - they even said so earlier - they're the scum of society."

"Shut up," said Videl, eager to finally get a word in. "You can save your spcheal for the judge, because I can promise you that no-one here - except for you - has threatened to kill a roomful of people."

"What's a room to a planet?" asked the eco-terrorist. "These people are dirty, all they care about is money. They don't care about the pollution they leave behind or how they're damaging this world that we all live in."

"We could always find a new planet to live on," said Saiyaman, attempting to defuse the situation. "However a second life isn't so easily found."

"Godammit," cursed the leader, a look of desperation in his eye as he took aim with his weapon. Videl didn't even need to bother to look to know that he was aiming at the small group he'd managed to amass.

Before she could blink, however, a green blur knocked the weapon out the leader's hands and the man to the floor. As the other terrorists in the room began to take aim - at either Saiyaman or random members of the crowd - Videl figured that it was finally time for her to bust into action.

Unfortunately, they all dropped like flies before she could even really do anything but the Satan didn't let that dismay her. She made her way over to the leader, who still looked a little disorientated, and placed him in a body lock.

"Sorry pal, it's over."

…

"You did a great job out there," said Bulma with a grin. "I've got to say, seeing you in action live is much better than watching you on the TV."

Something about the billionaire's words of praise struck Videl as ingenuine but she didn't comment on it. "Thank you, I'm really glad that I could help out but honestly it was Saiyaman who did all the hard work."

"I'm sure your boyfriend would disagree," said Bulma with a wink. "Standing tough the way you did is a virtue. No-one else in the entire room did that!"

"Well except for you," blushed Videl. "I guess that's fitting though; you've been my idol since I was eight."

Bulma paused to bid a few acquaintances goodbye with a wave. "Well I certainly hope I lived up to the billing then. You do remind me of a younger version of myself… that is, if I knew how to fight."

"And if I were a super genius," chuckled Videl. "But, if you don't mind, I do have a question I wanted to ask you. Who was it that you were talking to in the middle of that crazy guy's speech? I was really impressed with how you made him almost lose it with a single look by the way."

"That'll have to stay my little secret," smiled Bulma as she extended a hand towards Videl. "Now, before I head out, I just wanted to thank you profusely for what you did again. And also if you see that boyfriend of yours around, please extend my gratitude towards him as well."

"You got it," grinned Videl as she shook the blue-haired woman's hand. Her grip, Videl noted, was nothing like her father's - it didn't try to crush her hand but, unlike someone such as Erasa, it wasn't dainty in that it collapsed on itself upon contact. After attempting to meet the billionaire's firmness with her own, Videl stepped away from the woman and turned around to survey the dining hall.

There were bullet holes in the walls, many panes of glass were shattered and the entire place looked worse for wear but Videl figured that it had gotten off light. At least, she mused, the cleaners would not have to spend hours trying to scour blood from the floor.

"You look like a mess," said Azel, garnering her attention, as he gestured towards her attire.

Her dress was torn in a few places and her hair was completely dishevelled. Videl wasn't too worried about it though, trying to hold down a squirming terrorist did that to you.

"So I fit right in standing next to you then," Videl smirked, uncaring for her harsh tone.

"Ouch," he winced in mock agony. "Did you practice that one?"

Videl chuckled. "So how's your dad holding up? Hopefully he didn't get his panties in a twist from having to stand next to a gun."

"Haha, very funny," said Azel as he stressed each syllable. "I'm sure your father would wipe that damn smirk off your face if he were to hear you say that."

"You wish," said Videl as she poked her tongue out at him. "So what did you come over here for? To offer to fix my hair?"

"I figured you might need a little comforting after that experience," said Azel, deciding it was his turn to smirk. "Your new boyfriend seems to have left you hanging."

"Does it bother you to know that I have feelings for someone other than you?" she asked bitterly. "Or is it too hard for your pea-sized brain to comprehend that you'll never have a shot with me."

He shooshed her. "Did you honestly never learn to lower your voice? Do you really want other people in this room over-hearing?"

Videl sighed, knowing that he was right. The room was still filled with guests who had not yet completely tapered out, the police, and a few reporters amongst others.

"So what do you reckon all this was about?" asked Videl, gesturing with her head towards one of the eco-terrorists who was crouched over the ground, tight handcuffs restraining his movement.

"Y'know, for a police officer you sure aren't very observant," commented the young man as he tried to get a rise out of her. "These greenies obviously wanted to kill father and his competitors to make a hole in the oil market."

"Duh," said Videl sarcastically as she glared at her childhood friend. "But how would that make a difference? Someone else would just step up in the place of whoever they managed to kill. How did they set this whole thing up? Who was responsible for inviting everyone?"

"I don't know," he rolled his eyes. "Some of us know better than to follow our childish ambitions of becoming a detective."

"Right, you'd rather just have everything handed to you when your papa finally kicks the can," said Videl as she began to grow frustrated. It never ceased to annoy her how easily he could get under her skin and the climb back out in a moment's notice.

"Someday that mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble," Azel warned.

"The day it does, I'll be sure to come crying to you for hel-"

"Videl, I've been meaning to catch up with you!" said the police chief as he approached the young girl. "Finally got done taking care of all the preliminary procedures. Oh I don't believe I've had the pleasure of making acquaintance with this young man."

"Azel, this is the chief," said Videl curtly. "Chief, this is Azel."

"Isn't someone just in the best of moods today?" questioned Azel as he extended a hand towards the police chief. Videl couldn't help but compare the frames of the two men: despite reaching his mid forties and having quite a rotund stomach, the chief looked more muscular than Azel in every single way. Azel's body shape was a little similar to her own in that regard, lithe and slim, although it always felt like her  _friend_  was a good foot taller than her.

"Ah she's just had a tough day," said the chief sympathetically. "Now, I just wanted to thank you for performing your duties as professionally as always. I have no doubt that this entire thing would have ended in shambles if it weren't for you."

Videl blushed again. "I've been saying this all afternoon: all I did was capture the big, bad boss in a bodylock after Saiyaman took out everyone else."

"Nonsense," said Azel with a coy smirk about him. "But I suppose you know Videl Satan as well as I do, modest isn't she?"

The chief took the hat off his head. "Now do remember that the Satan City Police Department will always welcome you with open arms if you decide to join on a more permanent basis, y'know now that you're done with school and all."

Videl had to jab Azel in the gut to stifle his laughter. "Thanks Chief, I'll definitely keep it in mind."

As the burly man turned to leave, Videl glared daggers into Azel.

"What?" he asked as he brushed himself off. "You can't seriously be considering  _actually_  working for the police department?"

Videl didn't say anything.

"Oh for christ's sake," he groaned as he pulled at his hair. "You could be so much more than some measly police officer."

"Right, I could be the girlfriend of the incredible,  _one-and-only_  Azel Castrol," said Videl sarcastically.

He didn't bother to fight the smirk that rose to his face for the umpteenth time that day. "Maybe, but with your father's entire legacy behind you, don't you think it would be a waste to turn down the billions of dollars and tens of mansions to beat up some measly criminal every now and then? I'm sure that you could do more good for the world being the daughter of Hercule Satan - with all his influence - than you could being Police Officer Videl Satan."

Videl's face grew red as she looked around to make sure that no-one was overhearing their conversation. It was getting far too personal for her tastes. "Whatever I end up choosing to do is my choice, not yours."

…

"I kinda feel a little guilty," said Videl. "Using someone like this, it's not really me."

"Well it's not really that fair that you've got to put up with all the media's rubbish either," Erasa pointed out. "Besides, you're not doing anything too wrong… you're just leading a guy on for a bit of personal gain. That's hardly on the level of, let's say, murdering someone."

"It's a bit more than just leading him on," said Videl as she shook her head. "I'm the one instigating everything. I don't know how I'll be able to fight crime alongside him again once this whole story blows over and I break it off with him."

"It's a little too late to be having second thoughts about this, Videl," said Erasa with a sigh. "You've already opened up to the media about your relationship, things'll work out even worse than before if you back out  _now_."

"So you're saying that I should try and keep this up for a while?" asked Videl as she drummed her fingers on the table in front of her. "It's just… all kind of a little weird for me."

"Well I'm not saying that you have to screw him or something, just keep things as they are - the occasional hug when you run into him and maybe, if you're feeling generous, a kiss here and there too," shrugged Erasa. "It's not nice but I'm sure Saiyaman will be able to get over it. He's like a modern-day Superman… what's one  _human_  girl going to do to him?"

"Human?" repeated Videl before something suddenly clicked. "Oh yeah, that reminds me! At the very least, I can try and find out what's under that mask of his. Make sure that he's not actually the leader of the Red Shark Gang in disguise trying to pull something or whatever."

Erasa giggled a little at that. "I doubt that but hey, let me know if he's a looker and I might just take him off your hands for you."

Videl snorted. "I'll keep it in mind."

"So how was that big event that got gatecrashed?" asked Erasa. "I heard that a little someone took out their leader while they were dressed all fabulously in the outfit that I picked out."

"Well, it certainly looks like the event had been rigged from the very start which makes me a little suspicious about the people who organised it but I'm no detective… at least not yet, anyway," said Videl with a grin. "From what I gathered they were a bunch of these crazy enviro-terrorists who wanted to take out all the big guys in the oil market - and of course Azel's dad was right on their list."

"Sounds pretty scary," shuddered Erasa as she tried to imagine having to fight a group of terrorists. "But you and Saiyaman were able to handle it no sweat, right?"

"Well with so many hostages, I was pretty much stuck because I don't think I could handle not being able to save another person right now," sighed Videl, recalling the death that she'd been unable to prevent before she revealed her  _relationship_  with Saiyaman to the press. "But yeah, once Saiyaman showed up, they didn't stand a chance. I swear that he's bulletproof somehow."

"Well he can fly and dresses like some kind of weirdo so I don't think that theory's too out there," conceded Erasa. "So the bad guys are all locked up now though, right?"

"I hope so, because the Castrols pissing off a bunch of terrorists doesn't bode very well with me especially since Mackenzie wanted dad to help him out with this new project he has."

…

"How do you know Bulma Briefs?" asked Videl.

This was probably the sixth private meeting or so between the two of them since that fateful day. They didn't do much - Saiyaman always seemed unsure of what to do and Videl sure as hell didn't know the first thing about dating - during the meetings but Videl had begun to enjoy them nonetheless.

"Uhh who?" he stammered slightly, feigning innocence.

"You heard me," she glared at him, having none of it.

"What would give you that idea?" he asked, trying to make it sound ludicrous.

"Well during that hostage situation at that dinner the other night, she called someone and a few minutes later you showed up," said Videl as her eyes narrowed. "It's not very hard to connect the dots."

"I assur-"

"I also had a little chat with her afterwards and she told me that she knows you," said Videl, smirking at the startled  _body language_  Saiyaman was reeking of. "She also said for me to extend her gratitude towards you."

"Well I guess the cat's out of the bag, yeah, I know Bulma," said Saiyaman as he shrugged. "I've known her since I was a child though, so there's no big deal there."

"I knew it!" Videl grinned in victory before explaining herself. "Well, she didn't technically tell me that she knew you… just heavily implied it."

He sighed. "You're too smart for your own good, I never was very good at this whole people thing. Mum always used to say that I could never tell a lie, kinda like my little brother."

Videl felt a twinge of guilt but tried to prevent it from showing on her face. "Oh it's not that hard, you've just kind of got to act like you normally do. For me, that's probably really assertive and bold… for you, well I'm not really sure what you're actually like."

"What do you mean?" he asked in confusion.

"Well normally you act all dorky and super hero-y but when we're together you can jump from being really shy to being mischievous to being confident," said Videl in amazement. "It's actually kinda what draws me to you, I'm the type of person that loves a mystery."

"And I guess you're really itching to see what's under this mask, huh?" he grinned.

"Don't suppose you're planning to show me anytime soon," said the teenage crimefighter.

"Nah!"

She sighed. "Ah well, I can live with your face being a mystery for now. Don't tell me that half your face is charred or something because of some accident you got into as a kid, though."

"Would you abandon me if it was?" he asked curiously.

"Of course not," she exclaimed. If she was going to abandon him anyway, she reasoned, it wasn't a half-truth to say that some hideous disfigurement of his face would push her to abandon him.

"Why not?" he asked, his head tilted slightly in confusion. Videl could tell that the man in front of her had been deprived of access to society at some point during his foundation years - instinctively she knew that nothing was wrong with his face but he still wanted to know what society would think of him if it were. He was nothing but one big, walking contradiction. "I mean, you're the daughter of Hercule Satan, aren't you? Surely you could do better than some corny superhero dressed as a clown."

"Oh don't you start too," said Videl as she crossed her arms. It felt strange to genuinely open up to him like this. "Everyone wants to go on about Satan this, Satan that; it never stops. I'm just a regular person at the end of the day, not some media diva."

"Sounds like the whole saviour of the world thing is more trouble than it's worth," observed Saiyaman.

Videl frowned a little. "Is that why you wear a mask? Because you don't like all the attention."

"I guess so," he shrugged, as if he didn't really have an answer to it. "With all the fancy things that I can do, tricks as you'd probably call them, I don't think I'd be left alone."

"It's not like anyone actually knows where you live anyway," said Videl. "You don't seem like a city-boy so I'm guessing some place off in the country."

"Let's just say that being able to fly at the speeds of a jet-plane comes in handy," he said, stifling a little laugh.

"I'd bet," said Videl as she contemplated just how the power of flight would improve her everyday life. She almost considered asking him to teach her before pausing. No, that wouldn't be fair. She was already using him enough. "You probably think I've got it easy with what I'd imagine you'd have to hide from."

"Not really," he admitted. "I mean, some of the stuff written about you isn't exactly flattering. I don't know if I'd be able to handle people wanting to dabble so much into my personal affairs since I grew up surrounded by nothing but nature and my parents."

Videl blushed a little at the revelation that he read some of papers about her. "Really? What do they say?"

"You don't read them then?" he asked before nodding in understanding. "I wouldn't really read it if that kinda stuff was written about me either. Mostly, they alternate between idolising you for your crime fighting exploits and - I think - I once read a newspaper that talked about you and some childhood friend."

"Sounds interesting," said Videl sarcastically, feigning innocence. "See what you're missing out on?" she giggled.

"It's a shame alright," he joked. "Now why don't we see how much you've improved since our last fight?"

"Huh?" she said, unsure but morbidly curious of what he was talking about.

"That spar we had a few days ago. If we're going to be fighting crime together, it's probably a good idea to make sure that we stay on our toes," he said unconvincingly.

Videl's eyes hardened. That afternoon, though in hindsight she felt compelled to say she enjoyed, had also been a source of great frustration for her. The two had  _sparred_  for hours on end and the closest Videl came to striking her colleague during the entire ordeal had been when she had almost accidentally skimmed his cape.

His words felt more insulting to her than heartfelt because he  _had_  to know just how much it had pissed her off to be made such a fool of. Her pride, like a lioness that had been outmuscled by a stray cat, had been wounded to no small degree that day.

"I can normally hit most of the criminals we come up against," she said bitterly. She was self-aware of the fact that her mood had turned taken a turn for the worse but she made no attempt to arrest its free-fall. Instead, she would use it to power her body during their now-inevitable spar.

"I thought you were planning to enter the World Martial Arts Tournament," he said, his words coming off harsher than he probably intended. "Most of the opponents you come up against there won't be run-of-the-mill criminals who believe that guns are finer weapons than their own bodies."

"What do you know about the tournament?" she asked, glowering a little. "At least my dad's been a winner."

It was only when he didn't respond that Videl came to the realisation of how  _pathetic_  it sounded to on one-hand complain about how her father's shadow haunted her so and then on another hide under the shade it provided.

"Fine, then," she forced herself to not growl. He didn't really deserve it after all. "Let's fight."

"Your temper is an incredibly powerful weapon," he recited, making no indication that he was ready to commence their spar. "Mixed with the adrenalin of a dangerous situation, I don't think there is a more powerful force in the entire world."

She didn't respond, trying to calm herself. As much as it frustrated her to admit, whatever he was saying probably had a point.

"But you need to learn that it is also a very powerful double-edged sword," he lectured. "It can blind you and soon you can find yourself fighting more against  _it_  than your opponent."

"For a corny superhero you sure do sound a lot like an old martial arts scroll," she said light-heartedly.

"Personal experience," he grinned a little sheepishly.

This time he settled into a proper stance.

...

 


	6. Chapter 6

"Thank you for attending, ladies and gentleman."

Videl's eyebrow rose in curiosity as she watched her father on the television. As a young girl she had always made it a point to watch every single one of her father's televised events but since about fifteen she had stopped doing it as often.

"Now I'm sure that you all have a lot of questions about why exactly this press conference was called," said Hercule as he glanced to his side where Mackenzie Castrol sat proudly. "And as much as I would love to engage in some idle chatter, the truth is that I'm only here for one reason and one reason only."

Videl rolled her eyes at her father's usual dramatisation. It never ceased to amaze her how the whole world ate up his words but she had to hand it to the man, he really knew how to get a crowd interested.

"I'd like to announce that from this day forward, I will be entering into a partnership with the great folks at Castrol Inc," said Hercule with a warm smile on his face betraying the calculated nature of his words. Videl didn't doubt he was aware that whatever he said would be scrutinised for the next few hours by almost every news station in the world. "I think that perhaps it would be best to allow Mackenzie to explain the finer details of our agreement."

The eldest of the two men cleared his throat. "As many of you are no doubt aware, the world that we live in today is - has been - growing at a staggering rate. Our dependency on technology, and of course, oil, has also increased dramatically over the past few decades."

Videl tossed the remote in the air, contemplating turning it off already. Mackenzie had always seemed nice enough but something about his demeanor had never ceased to give her the impression that he was an old fart.

"Now obviously, there is a finite amount of oil available to us and once we begin testing the last of our deposits, there is no doubt that oil prices will skyrocket. For the economists out there, we at Castrol Inc fear that Peak Oil is soon approaching - if it hasn't already - and we have decided that decisive action needs to be taken."

"I have agreed to financially support Castrol Inc's search for oil in outer space," said Hercule, taking the spotlight back from the richer man. "To some of you, this might seem crazy. But to those of you who have the ability to see past the present and the vision to see into the future, you must, like me, realise that this is the first step towards settling what will inevitably be one of the greatest crisis humanity will ever face."

Videl tossed the remote aside, her focus completely upon her father now. She had heard a little about what was going on from Azel the other day but it had been at the back of her mind ever since.

"Make no mistake when I say that fighting off our diminishing oil supplies is just as important as fighting off Cell," smirked the champion, a triumphant grin upon his face as he stared directly at the cameras. "The Castrols are a family of visionaries and I encourage the support of anyone else who can see that."

Videl sighed before making the wise decision to turn the television off so that she would not have to witness the unfortunate sight of a Castrol basking in praise. She wasn't quite sure what to make of her father's decision to agree with their business proposal but she was perfectly content with that.

It was nibbling away at the back of her mind a little but she didn't care too much about it. Things, she reasoned, could either go disastrously wrong or remarkably well when she weighed up all the parties involved.

…

"Please, you've got to let me bring a plus one along," begged Erasa as she clasped her hands together. "I've got this really hot guy lined up and I bet going to such a big event would  _totally_  blow his mind."

"I'm not too sure," said Videl skeptically. "The last time I allowed you to bring a date along to one of my father's birthday parties it turned out to just be Brad from school trying to impress me."

"This one will different, sheesh Videl," Erasa rolled her eyes. "Besides, it's not like I would ever ruin his  _fiftieth_. You only turn fifty once, y'know."

"You only turn  _any_  age once."

"You're no fun," Erasa waved a hand dismissively. "But seriously, does this mean that I can bring my date along?"

"Sure," Videl shrugged. "There'll be plenty of people there anyway so I don't think anyone will really mind."

Erasa hugged her as a gesture of her thanks. "You're the best Vi!"

"Don't mention it, I guess?" said the crimefighter apathetically.

"Oh and what are you going to get Mr. Satan for his birthday? Normally my parents buy the gifts but I'll need to get my own because I moved out the other month," said Erasa as she fidgeted with her hair.

"Now that you mention it, I don't have a clue," said Videl. "I don't really think we could finance a life-sized solid gold statue of him to place in the living room and other than that, I'm not too sure what he'd want."

Erasa gasped suddenly and did her best to suppress a grin and the inevitable laughter that followed it.

"What?" glared Videl, not quite understanding what the big deal was.

"You told another joke," said Erasa as she looked at the younger girl with a grin. "That's three today! I bet all that time you've been spending with Saiyaman really has made a difference in your life."

"Not really," admitted Videl. "I mean all I really do nowadays is spar with him."

Erasa slapped her forehead with her palm. "Of course you ended up making this about fighting. I should have known better."

"I keep saying it, I'm just not cut out for any of this romantic stuff," said Videl, hoping that the message would finally get through to her ditzy friend through some miracle.

"I don't believe that," said Erasa assertively. "You're just not trying hard enough."

"Well what am I meant to do? It's awkward to be the only one initiating the kisses or the hugs, especially when I don't even really mean them," said Videl as she cast her eyes towards the floor. She'd only kissed her fellow superhero sparingly but she'd tried to greet him with a hug during some of their most recent meetings, like in the movies.

"Hmmm," hummed Erasa as she thought. "When you're struggling to catch a boy's attention, there's only one thing you can do."

"Let me guess… a makeover?" said Videl sarcastically but Erasa's energetic nod just made her sigh. "Yay, lucky me."

"Oh don't be such a sourpuss," said Erasa before raising a finger to her cheek, still in deep thought. "A regular makeover won't help too much, especially because he's already seen you dolled up once or twice. It won't have the same effect on him as it initially did."

"Right," said Videl, deciding to refrain from commenting on what could not be anything less than an over analysis of non-existent relationship.

She took a hard look and gave Videl a once over before suddenly breaking into a triumphant grin. "Ah hah! I've got it now."

Videl met her with a blank stare, hoping that whatever wild conclusion she had undoubtedly drawn would not involve her playing damsel in distress again.

"It's those clothes of yours," said Erasa, grabbing hold of Videl's baggy white t-shirt and waving it around for emphasis. "How can you expect him to fall for you if you're wearing these? Your killer figure is completely hidden and I'm sure that even if I got a shirt five sizes smaller than this one, it still wouldn't do any justice to your curves."

Videl sighed and decided to just go along with it. When Erasa got into these moods, the only thing she could ever do was hope that it would pass soon if she cooperated.

"Let's go fix up your wardrobe so you have some proper clothes to wear and then we'll see if Saiyaman can avoid jumping you the moment he next lays his eyes on you."

…

"New clothes, huh?" asked Saiyaman with a telling grin.

Videl blushed, kicking the ground with her open-toed sandals. "A friend of mine confiscated my regular wardrobe. She said it was too boring."

"Well, I think she was right," said Saiyaman as he eyed down Videl's figure. A glare from Videl quickly had him recoiling and placing his hands in the air in an attempt to explain himself. "N-Not to say that there's anything uh wrong with your regular clothes, those are fine… but there's nothing wrong with a little change every once in a while, right?"

Videl sighed. "I guess you're right. And besides, I'm lucky that Erasa settled for purple instead of insisting on hot pink."

"Well it is the first time I've seen you wear a skirt," he said with a chuckle. "And your top isn't large enough to pass as one of mine anymore."

"She actually almost forced me into wearing a dress today - not for any fancy party or anything, just as casual wear," groaned Videl. "Eventually I was able to talk enough sense into her to get her to realise that if I'm going to be fighting criminals, I need to be able to move comfortably without flashing my lacy underwear to anyone who cares to look."

Saiyaman's cheeks flushed a light pink colour before he smiled. "Well it's not like there would be any criminals that would give you a hard time with me around."

"Oh yeah," said Videl. "I'm sure the fluorescent green tunic, erect antennae and the posing will send them running off with their tails between their legs."

"Well I didn't really think Bulma was thinking 'intimidation' when she made me this outfit, but I'll take it," he said with a grin.

_'_ _Interesting, Bulma made his outfit,_ ' noted Videl as she chuckled along with him. "So anyway, I've been deliberating over something for this entire morning, but I've finally come to a decision."

"Oh really?" he said curiously, arching his head down to meet her eyes with his gaze. Videl felt irritated by the reminder of her height when she mirrored his action by craning her own head back to stare into that thick, black visor of his.

"My dad's fiftieth birthday party is coming around the corner," said Videl. "And as you could probably guess, there'll be a huge party thrown in his honour. I just wanted to invite you to it."

"When is it?" he asked, clearly weighing up the pros and cons of her proposal in his head. It was fair enough, reasoned Videl, Saiyaman wasn't exactly the type of person to do public appearances.

"About three weeks from now, on the Saturday," said Videl, before explaining and deciding to lay a little bit of bait before the caped crusader. "You see, my dad doesn't really like me dating boys. If you could picture your stereotypical overprotective dad and make them about ten times more annoying about it, you have my dad… so I was a little hesitant to extend this invitation to you. In the end, though, I decided that I cared more about us than whatever pettiness he would feel upon seeing you."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt if I showed up," said Saiyaman diplomatically. "I'll need a bit of time to erm check my schedule though and make sure that I can attend."

He bit.

"Of course," said Videl with a smile. It was just an added bonus that Azel would almost certainly be at the party; she felt somewhat cruel envisioning the arrogant boy's crushed dreams that lay a mere fortnight and a half away. "All the time that you need, just make sure you get back to me once you make your decision."

"Well, I guess that settles that," said Saiyaman as he settled into a stance, beckoning for Videl to initiate their spar. "Now let's see what you've got in store for me today."

"Oh, one more thing!" said Videl suddenly, causing the superhero to drop his stance. "Since there'll be a lot of people and I'm not really trying to provoke dad… it would be great if you could, uh, try and keep a low profile at the party."

"Me? Keep a low profile?" he snickered, teasing her in a way that very few people got away with. "I'm not sure that's even possible."

"Well try and keep all the yelling and posing to a minimum and take it from there."

…

Videl try to catch her breath desperately. The purple top that Erasa had forced onto her earlier in the morning was already drenched and ripe with sweat. Her knuckles were beginning to ache; more often than not she missed Saiyaman with her strikes and ended up making contact with a tree or something behind him, however on the rare occasions that she did indeed manage to hit the man, it hurt even more than hitting the trees.

"You need to work on your endurance," said Saiyaman effortlessly, as if he hadn't dodged a barrage of attacks that would almost certainly put any criminal in hospital. "Your fighting style relies on speed far more than it does heavy hitting. It's not really any use, though, if you wear yourself out just as quickly as your opponent."

"My endurance is fine," Videl grit her teeth. She wasn't one to take criticism - even if it was constructive - lightly. "I run like three marathons a year."

"That's all well and good if you're fighting street criminals but against proper, disciplined martial artists that won't get you very far," said the taller crimefighter. "When I was a boy, I was made to live in the wilderness for six months. And let me tell you, the wilderness out in the mountains is filled with some mighty fine dinosaurs."

"Dinosaurs," repeated Videl, almost in disbelief. "You're telling me that you fended off dinosaurs as a little kid all by yourself in the  _wilderness_."

"I probably have a scar or two somewhere to prove it," shrugged Saiyaman. "But the point is that almost anyone who makes it past the preliminary round would be able to finish a marathon. Some, like you, probably participate in a few every year."

"But that's not enough," said Videl, nodding in realisation as she cut him off. "If I want to be the best, I need to up the ante, then."

He raised a gloved hand to the back of his neck. "Well, I'm not saying that you need to run a marathon every three days - there are other more effective ways to train your endurance - but it would be a good idea to play to your strengths."

"So what do you have in mind?" asked Videl as she tilted her head slightly.

"While I do like your new clothes," said Saiyaman with a cheeky grin, "they might have to go if you're serious about becoming stronger."

Videl smiled mischievously. "Well, you wouldn't hear me complaining if they were accidentally torn to shreds during a spar."

"That's not really what I was thinking," said Saiyaman as he shook his head. "Tell me, have you ever heard of weighted clothing?"

"You mean like in all the old kung fu movies?" asked Videl. "What's next, are you going to have me catch things with chop sticks?"

Saiyaman laughed a bit before rubbing the back of his helmet in a way that Videl was quickly beginning to realise was something of a habit. "I wouldn't really know, I didn't watch many movies as a kid."

"Right, you were too busy fighting off bears in the wilderness and practising your superhero poses," teased Videl as she stuck her tongue out. "But in all seriousness, you're not really suggesting that I try and wear weighted clothing are you?"

"Well, why not?" asked Saiyaman. "It's been awhile since I've resorted to that but it's a simple and effective way to train."

"What difference is a kilogram or two even going to make?" exclaimed Videl, unable to accept the superhero's ridiculous suggestion.

"Well I never said you should lowball it," shrugged Saiyaman. "Going by your current level, I think about one fifth of your current weight would be a good starting place."

"Are you for real?" asked Videl incredulously. "How am I going to fight crime when I have to lug around an extra fifteen kilos on my body? I'll get shot or something… you said it yourself, my fighting style revolves around speed!"

"I wouldn't let that happen to you," said Saiyaman protectively before frowning as he came up with an answer. "Well think of just how much faster you'll be whenever you take the clothing off."

Videl opened her mouth to respond but paused. She could think of one very recent moment when she hadn't been fast enough, when she hadn't been strong enough, and it had cost another person their life. Was her pride really more important to her than the people of her city?

In the end, there wasn't even a choice for her to make.

…

"I need you to come with me," said Hercule, barging his way through her door and offering her his hand.

Videl shut her laptop but remained lingering on the bed. "What for?"

"There's a business meeting that's come up and I would really like for you to be apart of it," said Hercule, impatiently.

"With who?" she pressed unrelentingly.

He sighed, before throwing his hands up in the air. "I'd hoped to avoid getting to that part until we got in the car. I'm driving over to meet with Mackenzie to talk a little more about this scheme in space that we have."

"And you want me to come along… because?" Videl trailed off. Unbeknownst to her father, there was another reason why she wasn't all that eager to get out of bed and it had very little to do with the Castrols.

"One day, you'll have to sit through dealings like these," said Hercule, reaching for her hand and trying to pull her up. "I've always told you that I might not be able to pass enough booksmarts onto you to get you into some fancy university but I'll be damned if I don't pass on what I've spent a lifetime of mistakes learning."

Videl sighed. Occasionally her father got into one of his more dramatic moods. "Fine, I'll come," she said with a wince as she pushed herself off the bed with her left hand. Yesterday, she had decided to go through her usual routine with the weighted clothing that Saiyaman had suggested she wear… that hadn't exactly been her brightest idea.

Her father noticed the slight hesitation in her step. "Are you alright, sweetie?"

"Yeah, some thief's accomplice caught me by surprise in a purse-snatching case yesterday," lied Videl. It wouldn't do to let him know about her exploits with Saiyaman. She figured that he'd probably seen the news but he hadn't mentioned anything about it to her and she wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"You be careful out there," warned Hercule. "I keep telling you how I proud I am of you doing what's right but I don't think I'll ever be able to express how worried I feel every time I hear you're going fist to fist with some crazed lunatic."

"Well then you know how I felt when I watched you step up to fight Cell when I was eleven," said Videl with a chuckle. "But alright, I'll try and stay safe or whatever if it'll make you happy."

"Always," he said as he hugged her tightly. "Now, let's get on our way to this meeting and you can tell me about this superhero boyfriend of yours that I keep hearing about."

Videl smiled nervously.

…

"Glad to see I wasn't the only one who brought my heir along," said Mackenzie as he welcomed his two guests with a firm handshake each. "You see, Hercule, you have an aptitude for seeing the future that I admire about you. It's why I reached out to you for this little business exploit of mine… ours."

Hercule gave Azel a nod of acknowledgement before turning towards Mackenzie. "I didn't come here to small talk so let's skip the formalities. In a partnership, I like someone who I can trust, someone who's got my back and I can't feel like I'm meeting with my board of investors everytime I'm having a chat with that someone."

"Very well," said Mackenzie with a curt nod. "Although, if this venture pays off like I'm expecting it to, you can expect to never have to answer to a board of directors again. We'll all be far too rich."

"If that was your idea of a joke, I'm not quite sure I get it," said Videl dryly.

"Ah Videl, someday under that brutish exterior of yours a lady will be made of you yet," sighed the billionaire. "What do you think of this plan?"

"To go out into space to find oil?" asked Videl with a shrug. "Sounds a little stupid, I guess. I mean we don't even really know if other intelligent life forms exist let alone oil or even water."

"I see you're quite the skeptic, then," said Mackenzie, nodding to himself. "I am apart of the crowd that choose to believe that we are not alone in this galaxy of ours. Cell, I feel, may have been an alien. What do you think, Hercule?"

"I think I might agree with you on that one," he said as he stroked his goatee. "Obviously, Cell was no ordinary creature. But at the same time, I think Videl may have a point here - but I'm no scientist - how do we know this won't be a massive waste of time and effort? Furthermore, how far are we going to venture into space. You'd imagine that we'll have to probe even further than most astronauts have gone before."

"All valid concerns," said Mackenzie with a smile as he cuffed Azel, who was beginning to zone out, on the shoulder. "Like with any investment, you never know what will happen to your money. The people that helped Dr. Briefs kickstart the Capsule Corporation would have found themselves at a similar crossroads to you, Hercule, unsure of whether or not to back a pioneer into an entirely new field. I'm willing to wager that they are more than happy with their choice forty years into the future."

"That's like a one in a million chance, though," protested Videl. If only she could get them to see how stupid of an idea the whole thing was. Even if they did find oil in space, the potential profits that Mackenzie was filling her father's head with were almost certainly not going to be anywhere near as grand in actuality.

Mackenzie acknowledged her interruption with another smile - a very business-man like smile was the best Videl could do to explain it - but continued addressing Hercule. "Capsule Corp. does bring me to your other question, though. Like you said, we'll need to go quite far and deep into space if we're hoping to actually find any oil so for this project I decided to enlist the help of…"

"Hey," Azel whispered discreetly, trying not to catch his father's attention. "Do you want to sneak out of here?"

Videl paused, needing time to consider her options. After a moment or two, she responded with a nod because she figured that even an entire day in the company of Azel paled in comparison to listening to his father go on about oil and economics for a good few hours.

...


	7. Chapter 7

Soon the pair of childhood friends found themselves sneaking out of their fathers' meeting room. Their respective bodyguards were watching one entrance but not the other - it wasn't as if anyone else was aware the meeting was occurring - and so Videl allowed Azel to guide her through the empty one.

The place reminded Videl of an old council building, old-fashioned and with a squeaky wooden floorboard or two if you weren't careful about where you placed your feet. The stone courtyard and strange statues - of who, or rather  _what_ , Videl could not quite decipher - helped to do nothing except add to that feeling. She rubbed her bicep somewhat gingerly, the muscle still sore from the workout she had done yesterday.

Azel noticed.

"Did you do something to your arm?" he asked, curious, brown eyes that would have had any lesser girl melting in his lap wide open as they stared at her right upper arm.

"Weightlifting accident," she scowled, the edges of her vision acutely drawn towards the offending undershirt. "I bit off a little more than I could chew."

"Somehow, that doesn't quite surprise me y'know," he said with a light-hearted smile.

"Even with a sore arm, I could still wipe that grin off your face with my eyes closed," said Videl promptly. She didn't care if she was being rude or snarky: Azel was not a person that deserved any courtesy from her.

"Really?" he asked with a smirk about him. "Why don't we have a little wager then, since I know how much you love to make anything and everything about fighting?"

Well, he wasn't wrong.

"I'm listening," said Videl, cracking her knuckles through her - now weighted - fingerless gloves. In all honesty, it wouldn't be much of a fair fight given that she had twice lifted the Junior World Martial Arts Tournament belt and had come very close to lifting it a third and final time at the last tournament, but Videl felt that anything that wasn't about the same old oil and money nonsense was fair game.

"Well it'll just be a friendly spar, there wouldn't be much pleasure to be had in either of us taking it further than that," said Azel diplomatically. "Let's say that if I win… you agree to come out with me so that I can show you just what it is that you're missing."

Videl snorted. "Fine then, but if you lose, you've got to finally drop this and leave me alone."

"I suppose that's a fair deal," said Azel as he brushed his hands against his shirt. It was a little odd not seeing him in a suit because their last few encounters had only been during formal occasions.

"How do I know that you'll keep to your word, though?" asked Videl, pausing for a moment as she eyed the boy in front of her, trying to understand just what his endgame was.

"Aside from the fact that I'm a gentleman who stays true to his word, you mean?" he asked with a faux scoff before glancing towards her to meet her blue eyes. "I suppose you're not wrong, though. I have no way of knowing that you'll keep to your end of the deal either."

Videl waited for a while, a pregnant silence overcoming the two of them before she finally responded after choosing her words carefully. There was no going back from here. "Fine, then the outcome has to be publicly announced."

"I thought you weren't friends with the media, the Princess of Satan City and all that aside," remarked Azel, a hand running through his hair to maintain its styling in the face of the strong breeze that was facing the duo.

"I'm not, but both of us will have to keep to our words with our reputations at stake," said Videl evenly. He seemed fairly satisfied with that response so Videl dropped her weight onto the balls of her feet and settled into a basic defensive stance. It would be smart to wait for him to make the first move and then pounce quickly. "You ready?"

Azel stretched his arms out and removed his maroon west, flinging the garment to the ground a few metres away from them. "As much as I'll ever be," he said before lunging forth with a fist.

Videl sidestepped it by the skin of her teeth, almost faltering because her body still wasn't sure how much force to use with her weighted clothes. She returned fire with two quick jabs to his shoulders, but he managed to shrug them off and raise a knee towards her gut. The crimefighter blocked it with her left forearm with ease before mustering as much strength as she could and pushing the boy off balance.

It would have been more elegant to simply swipe his left foot of the ground with one of her own, but Videl had decided against it, given that she wasn't fighting a trained martial artist. Nevertheless, he crumpled to the floor, beginning to pant heavily.

"We can call it quits here so that I don't have to embarrass you any further," offered Videl with a cruel smirk about her face. As much as she didn't want to beat up someone who couldn't fight back, she was hardly going to complain too much at the opportunity to plant a few well-placed fists in Azel's gut.

"I'm not some petty crook so you're going to have to do a little better than that to take me out," said Azel, pushing himself off the floor. "There won't be a Saiyaman to come help you out once you get in over your head either."

"Pfft, it's not like I need him to come cleaning up after me," said Videl as she shook her head.

"Tell that to the bus which would have driven straight off a cliff if not for him," shrugged Azel, with the cocky grin on his face that Videl had never been able to emulate despite her best efforts.

"That's it," grunted Videl. "You're going down."

"Bring it on," he taunted, circling around the girl on his toes, this time waiting for her to make the first move.

Videl was more than happy to oblige. She stepped in towards him, a little slower than she would have liked due to her clothing, before kicking at his chest. He was sent flying a foot or two away from the girl but somehow managed to land on his feet with a stumble.

She flocked to his stumbling form, making sure to wait for him to regain his footing, before crudely shoving him off balance again. Videl was a martial artist, she knew how to and understood the importance of fighting with grace, but it had been clear to her from the very beginning that this was not a match between two fighters.

As she caught an outstretched right fist before it could make a clean connection with her, she began to wonder why exactly the arrogant young man in front of her had suggested the fight. Ducking under his retaliatory blow and twisting his extended arm over her right shoulder, she couldn't quite determine if he was deluded enough to believe that he could actually beat her or if it was just one big joke to him.

She didn't snap his arm like a twig, even though it would have been painfully easy to. The girl was tempted to swing her  _secret_   _lover_  around and send him crashing to the ground in a display of the brute strength she still possessed despite building her fighting style around swiftness but had to settle for letting go of Azel's arm and jabbing her knee into his stomach when he began to look as though he would break free. He shrugged the blow off and responded with yet another fist - however, this time, Videl could only half block it as she mustered up the strength to place her left arm in the way of her chest.

Videl frowned when she noticed him smirk a little. Clearly, she still hadn't been as fast as she had hoped for all her domination of the fight. She could feel herself begin to sweat beneath her undershirt. It was a cold, icy morning, but the overly excessive warmth of the extra layer further tempted her to rip the damn thing off.

She drew a few sharp breaths and moved a few strands of hair that had escaped from her pigtails away from over her face.

"I didn't peg you as the type to be scared to hit a girl," said Videl with a bit of a smirk. She knew well enough that he wouldn't get close to hitting her if she didn't let him but at the same time she couldn't entirely tell if he was really trying. Videl couldn't convince herself that the lack of  _fight_  in his eyes was due to the stereotypical rich boy apathy that she had encountered so many times before - she knew him better than that. But why wasn't he getting frustrated when he didn't connect with her? When she dodged one of his strikes without even looking or managed to block one after thinking on it for a few, vital drawn-out seconds?

"I thought you were the one who didn't like being a lady," said Azel coyly, draping his arms into some kind of a stance. From what Videl could tell, it looked like a shoddy attempt to replicate a protective stance that he had been taught at a self-defence class as an eight-year-old. "Look, I might not be much of a fighter but even you have to know that you'll never beat my wit."

"Won't hear me complaining as long as I can beat your face in," said Videl as she grinned sweetly. She raised her left hand mockingly. "Y'know, I bet that I won't even need this to win."

"To win what?"

Videl spun on her heel, hesitating for a moment as she realised that she was granting Azel an opening. To her surprise, she found herself face-to-face with the pruned face of Azel's father, her own father standing off disapprovingly a few metres behind him.

"Uhh we were just having a friendly contest," said Videl, her left hand falling limply to her side.

Hercule surveyed the sweat that had accumulated on both their foreheads and Azel's discarded vest, raising an eyebrow. "I can see that."

"It was just a little exercise," Azel lied smoothly. "Videl here was showing me some of her moves. I'm not much of a martial artist but, I have to say Mr. Satan, uhh sir, she's just as good as I thought."

Videl's eyes drifted towards her former friend. Even though he was clearly lying through his teeth, she couldn't help but bask in the praise that he was offering her. Maybe Erasa was right about her being an attention magnet after all.

"With all due respect, sir," he said, rubbing his shoulder blade with a sheepish smile that Videl hadn't seen in years. "You better watch out at the next tournament."

Maybe, just maybe, Azel wasn't  _that_  bad.

…

"What do you think of this one?" asked Videl as Erasa shrugged her shoulders lamely.

"It looks pretty cool," said Erasa as she pointed to the huge blown out painting. "But with that price-tag, I think you'd be better off buying your father a million afro-curlers."

"This is much harder than I thought it would be," said Videl with a sigh. "Fifteen years ago, all I would have to do is try and scrawl some crappy drawing onto a piece of paper and call it our family."

"Well, I mean, what do you buy a man who already has everything?" asked Erasa. "With you, I've never really had a problem because you never treat yourself. And besides, your dad hardly hands you billions of zeni to blow."

"No idea," sighed Videl. "He's always seemed to enjoy the finer things in life… if I could afford it, I'd probably buy him his own yacht stocked with enough whiskey to sink the damn thing."

"Hey, these paintings aren't that bad a start," said Erasa with a playful grin. "I mean who wouldn't want to hang the one that looked like  _un-tossed salad_  above their mantlepiece."

Videl growled a little in frustration, but a smile still rose to her lips. "You know, maybe it wouldn't be that bad an idea to commission a painting of him. Picture him standing victoriously over Cell's corpse as he raises that freak of nature's detached head up the air."

"Quite sure he already has an entire room in that mansion of yours dedicated to that," said Erasa coyly. "Besides, I thought you were the one who didn't want to feed that ego of his."

"Well, it's his birthday - what kind of daughter am I if I can't put my personal feelings aside for one day?" asked Videl, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Y'know, what?" asked Erasa. "I'm feeling pretty hungry and we're not making much progress here, so why don't we go and get ourselves a bite to eat. You can also tell me what happened to all those cute clothes I worked so hard to pick out for you."

Videl nodded in agreement, gesturing for Erasa to follow her as she led her best friend out of the store. "Saiyaman said he liked them, but he pointed out that wearing weighted clothing is a pretty good way to train without training."

"Weighted clothing?" asked Erasa as she sceptically rose an eyebrow. "That sounds like a pretty lame excuse to not wear a skirt every once in a while."

"Basically, under this get-up," said Videl, gesturing towards her usual outfit consisting of an oversized white t-shirt and shorts, "I'm wearing some really heavy clothing. It's kind of like resistance training if you know what that is."

Erasa stared at her blankly. "No, not really. But more importantly, why are you guys making all this about training? It was supposed to be about you two dating!"

"Well fighting is the only real common ground that we have," said Videl. "I mean, he's a pretty weird guy in person. Weirder than you'd think with the weird voice and awkward poses, anyway."

"Well what if this is his way of seeing if you're just trying to use him to get stronger?" asked Erasa.

"Not everyone looks for opportunities to use other people, Erasa," said Videl, forcing herself to refrain from getting too agitated at her friend. "And besides, he's hardly taught me anything. He's just given me a pointer or two and shown that he's a real bastard to land a hit on."

"Nuh-uh," the blonde protested with a shake of her head. "Think about it, it's not going to bode well with him if you rock up to your next  _date_  all sweaty, wearing your resistance clothing or whatever and expecting a spar. From his perspective, this whole romance thing has come out the blue and the poor guy's probably not sure if you're still trying to unmask him or not."

"I'm still trying to unmask him," asserted Videl, crossing her arms across her chest before deflating. "Just… not in a bad way, anymore. I don't think he's really got all that much to hide."

"So you're finally accepting that he's a good guy?" asked Erasa. "What was your first clue, when he stopped a little kid from getting murdered or when he helped an old lady retrieve her kitten from the top of a tree?"

"Shut up," said Videl as she flicked Erasa's shoulder playfully. "But look, I'm sure he's not going to read too far into if I don't rock up in a frilly, pink dress, okay?"

"Well you can't wear your weighted clothing all the time, so take it off when you go to meet him," said Erasa stubbornly. "I'm not going to bother trying to convince you not to attempt to break his neck because that's inevitable but at least try and look a little more like his  _girlfriend_  while you're doing it."

"So it doesn't bother you that I'll be wearing  _normal_  clothes like ninety percent of the time?" asked Videl, dramatically gesturing towards her  _normal_  attire.

"Of course it bothers me," scoffed Erasa. "Seeing your complete ineptitude for fashion makes me want to strangle a cat. But you not screwing things up with Saiyaman is more important than you deciding to like your wardrobe change."

"Well I'm still not going to rock up in a long, flowy skirt after letting you style my hair for two hours," said Videl. "If I'm going to spar with him, it would be nice if I wasn't wearing stuff that makes it even  _harder_  to land a punch."

"Oh Jesus, Videl, you don't need to wear a  _long, flowy skirt_  to look presentable when you get together with Saiyaman," sighed Erasa. She ran her fingers through her hair, frustrated. "Okay, give me one last chance dressing you up. If we can't come to a decent compromise then I promise I'll let you wear all the oversized tees you want."

…

"The weighted clothes were too much I take it?" asked Saiyaman, screwing up his face behind his visor. "I don't blame you, they're quite a big leap actually."

"Nah," said Videl with a smirk. "I just figured that if we end up sparring again, I wouldn't want them getting in the way of me finally handing your superhero behind to you."

"If we end up sparring?" repeated Saiyaman, an intrigued undertone to his voice. "Don't we always end up sparring?"

"There was that one time… well, I guess you've got a point," said Videl. "I'm not the greatest romantic."

"I can see that," chuckled Saiyaman. "To be fair, though, fighting is one of the only things I know."

"Well, what else do you know?" asked Videl, intrigued as she decided to plop herself down onto the grassy ground of their private meeting place. "I mean I don't even know how old you are to start with."

"Let's just say I'm under thirty," said Saiyaman, no doubt trying to avoid giving away any clues about his identity.

Videl rolled her eyes. "Oh really now?"

"Fine, I'm probably about your age give or take a few months," said Saiyaman, although his answer didn't really phase Videl. She had figured that from the way he behaved or how his voice occasionally cracked when he tried to make it all superhero-y."

"Well, I guess that's something," said Videl with a shrug. "I don't suppose there's any other information you'd be willing to enlighten me with."

"Hey," he protested somewhat comically, "you were the one who set the up that little trap for me in the first place. You knew that the helmet was a part of the deal when you chose to pursue a more-than-platonic relationship with me."

"You kissed back!" exclaimed Videl in mock outrage. "I suppose we've not done a lot of that lately, have we?"

Saiyaman either didn't notice her cue or decided not to act on it because he simply stared back at her impassively for a few moments. "I guess we haven't, huh?"

Videl sighed. This was about as hopeless as trying to force a fish to breathe air. "So…" she said, "How much do I know about you, Saiyaman?"

He continued to look at her in confusion, regarding her closely as she continued.

"You know Bulma Briefs, you've been fighting off dinosaurs with your bare hands since age six and you can also fly," said Videl as she drew a finger to her chin. "Sounds to me like some kind of scientific experiment gone wrong."

"... Do you mean like an android?" he asked, completely unsure which direction the crimefighter's tangent was headed in. "I mean they say that Cell was a cyborg of some sort, so I guess I could see why you would think that."

"Then again, the things that you can do seem awfully familiar to the Martial Arts of the good old days," said Videl, reflectively. "I'm not too well-versed in it, but I remember people jumping around and flying clouds and all kinds of wacky stuff - the world was a strange place twenty years ago."

"I think I know what you're talking about," said Saiyaman. "Look at King Furry - who could imagine a dog being the leader of the earth in the current political landscape."

"And you're obviously not used to the city life and all that, so that leaves me with two conclusions. Either you're some kind of robot or a time traveller of some sort."

"I swear it's all human in here," said Saiyaman as he thumped his chest as if to wave away her doubts by proving that it didn't  _clank._  "For the most part, anyway, at least once you look past the green tunic and weird antennae sticking out of my head."

"And the more I think about it, time travel just sounds preposterous – well at least more so than swooping in to lift up an off-railed bus with your bare hands," she said. "So what are you? An alien? A mutant?"

She left her questions ambiguous so that he – and even she, herself – could not tell if they were serious or merely in jest.

"Does it really matter?" he asked, moving in to wipe a stray strand of hair from over her eyes. Her chest began to thump as if she had spent the last ten minutes finishing a marathon.

"If it doesn't, why won't you tell me then?" Her breath became shallow, as she found herself struggling to draw on the crisp afternoon air of the secluded clearing they were meeting in. She could only once – maybe twice – remember having felt like this in her entire life and already both occasions felt like they had happened eons ago.

He grasped her waist with a sturdy, gloved hand, gently luring her closer to him. She reciprocated by snaking her small, calloused hands around his gigantic back. "All in due time," he promised, his breath scentless as he cooly whispered into her forehead.

She felt her knees quiver but quickly pushed the hesitancy out of her body and through the soles of her feet, standing on her toes before seizing the moment like a fisherman reeling in his first catch. She thrust her lips onto his own, commanding his body to drop down to the evidently damp, grassy bed - drawing her own with it.

At first, it felt remarkably unlike her first kiss. Or her second one. The magic wasn't there – his lip didn't tremble as her tongue circled around his passageway to bliss - and she soon found herself pulling out for air. And she wasn't even out of breath. But then, wordlessly, he was on her and everything changed.

If she had gotten a taste of his very being in their first kiss, this time their tongues  _exploded_  on contact. She tried to push back with her own tongue but found her entire mouth almost giving out as Saiyaman's tongue touched and probed her own in all the right places. And no matter how much she resisted - not that she wanted to - she was unable to push back and make his tongue submit to her own.

When they finally broke apart once more, Videl almost didn't notice that her shirt was completely drenched from either the wet ground she had been pressed upon or her own body which felt as though it had nearly melted. She gasped for air, taking a few brief seconds to soak in the moment, before  _fighting_  back, fire blazing in her eyes, and all but jumping on the man to resume their dance - their fight, their struggle for victory.

Only once she heard him suppress what sounded like a purr did she allow herself to moan in pleasure.

She hated losing.

…

Videl twirled and twisted, ducking and weaving away from stray storms of bullets more elegantly than she had ever been able to compose herself on an old-fashioned, luxurious dancefloor. When a single bullet had almost grazed her exposed forearm five minutes prior, Videl had come to the realisation that with her additional  _burden_ , every fight would now demand more focus.

She was adapting well to the extra twelve and a half kilos that she put on as soon as she stepped out of the shower nowadays, but not looking like a slug that was about to sink into the ground was very different from being able to fight competently. When she was conscious of her next move, it came off most of the time but instinct - the one thing her mind could not override, no matter how much it tried - kept tripping her up. She would miscalculate the force needed to slightly jerk her body to the right and underdo it, causing one of her adversaries to exploit the vulnerability. Then, the next time, she would overdo it and send herself crashing into some inanimate object and have to do her best to avoid the fleet of bullets that inevitably followed her every movement.

_'_ _Where is he?'_  she found herself asking as she lunged for a thug's gun, only to have to stop and drop to the floor halfway through her manoeuvre as what looked like a miniature rocket went whizzing over her. She growled in frustration, like a lioness whose prey had slipped out through her enclosed claws, before sweeping the first thug's feet off the floor and smashing a fist into his face.

If bones cracked - either his nose or  _something_  at the back when his body crumpled to the floor - Videl paid it little notice. She couldn't, not when an Uzi was quickly emptying its clip into the space that had seconds ago been occupied by her body.

It was like a dance, trying to keep away from the bullets. Except it felt like she was a nine-year-old, dancing at midnight after having too much sugar. She was sweating, out of breath, somehow relatively uninjured and exhausted, but at the same time she was having the time of her life. If she was patient and ducked around enough, eventually a frustrated robber would leave an opening that almost welcomed her personally to exploit it. With the openings she could see and attacks she could feasibly pull off limited to a strict minimum, she found herself picking up on a lot more.

Suddenly, she saw a flutter of red and instinctively turned her head anti-clockwise towards the source. But there was nothing there – just air. She didn't have any time to mark it down to coincidence before she had to sprint away from her spot as she heard what could only be a grenade - especially in the context of the  _deadly_ silence from the normally mouthy thugs - roll towards her. It was a strange weapon of choice but in her times masquerading as a police officer, she had seen odder.

It exploded after about ten seconds which, even with her new undershirt, was more than enough time to flee the immediate scene and find a small car to hide behind. Videl wheezed in and out, grateful for the opportunity to catch her breath before her senses quickly tried to attune themselves in order to unearth the robbers' next move. She heard footsteps, muffled taunts and the unmistakeable sound of guns being fired blindly into the air in an effort to catch her off-guard.

This time, she growled after she caught a flash of green in the corners of her eyes. So he was here, then. Videl leapt away from her hiding spot with newfound ferocity and rolled behind another car which she used for cover. She would  _not_  let him steal all her thunder, not this time.

After a few more audible spurts of gunfire, the footsteps became louder and if that alone weren't enough to give away that a robber was on the other side of the car, the obscenities that sprung forth from his mouth certainly were. Videl caught him by surprise, turning a corner and kneeing him in the gut before snatching the rifle out of his hands. She spun and fired twice into his shin before darting around the car, back in her original position.

The incapacitated robber yelled in pain, but his pleas for help soon ceased as his conspirators quickly rushed to his aid. Three of them, all slightly taller than her and definitely more well built. Whether they knew she was on the other side of the car mattered not because a few seconds later, Videl was smashing the butt of her rifle into the hip of the largest. A swift strike to his temple sent him sprawling to the floor, but the other two were on her immediately.

There was no long ranged fire from the two pseudo-snipers (she doubted they actually were  _snipers_  or she would have known about it when she was peeking out from behind the car), thankfully, which Videl figured was because they didn't want to accidentally shoot one of their own. A plan quickly formulated in her head - if she could move the fight towards the thugs posted at the end of the store, she would take away their long ranged advantage and once she took out the two robbers currently engaged with her, she could move on to the rest without pause.

She flipped backwards, taunting the two to follow her, as she slowly guided them back towards the store. Unfortunately, they were able to give chase at a faster rate than she had anticipated and she soon found herself ducking under a fist and looking to swi-

The sound a loud gunshot rattled her. She wasn't sure if she was meant to be glad that she was still alive, but that didn't stop her from rolling her eyes as her superhero 'boyfriend' made his dramatic entrance.

"Miss Satan, it seems like you might need a bit of help taking down these rotten criminals," his voice boomed with the dorky tenor that had intrigued her so for so long as he dropped the bullets he had caught in his gloved palms to the ground.

The two thugs immediately in front of her looked to use the opening left by the distraction but this time she was faster. She punched one squarely in the gut and kneed the other in the balls for good measure.

"Nah, I'm doing just fine," she said, resisting the temptation to poke her tongue out. She had an image to maintain in front of all the crooks, after all.

He raised what she imagined to be an eyebrow before vanishing in a flash and reappearing with her two  _pseudo-snipers,_  both incapacitated.

"You were just looking for a good opportunity to show off," said Videl as she shook her head in disbelief.

"Well it looked like you had it handled, Miss Satan," he said, his voice still grand and large as though he was speaking to a crowd instead of just her. There were a few policemen stationed a small distance from the store, but it wasn't as though they would be able to hear, not if her  _boyfriend_  would lower his obnoxiously loud voice anyway.

"Didn't I tell you to call me Videl on like the first date?" she reprimanded him but she was starting to get the feeling that he enjoyed the theatrical corniness more than putting the bad guys away.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about!" he said as he looked around nervously.

Videl broke into laughter. "I thought you said you read the papers. Did you think the world just forgot about that kiss in front of the cameras?"

He seemed to be at a loss for words, before finally stammering. "I… I always thought that was something normal. Y'know, like it wasn't that big a deal or anything."

"You're not wrong," she agreed, "but with me being Satan City's very own damsel in distress and you being able to fly as fast as a jet, we're anything but normal."

"I suppose," he said, unconvinced. "So if the cat's out of the bag, does that mean people are going to expect us to start doing stuff?"

"Stuff?" Videl grinned. She was no beacon of romantic knowledge but hanging around Erasa for fifteen years tended to rub a little bit off on someone. "Like what?"

"I don't know, like handholding and kissing and all that," said the superhero.

"Uhm… excuse me." A police officer interrupted the pair. "I know you're both in the middle of a conversation right now, but we really need to cuff these guys and wheel them off to the station."

"Just give us a moment, and I'll come along with," said Videl, nodding her head. She turned back to her supposed crush. "So… uhm, yeah, I guess they might. I don't really know?"

"Well then, Miss Satan, it would be improper of me to not bid you adieu," he said in full superhero mode as he guided her towards him by her waist.

He turned his head slightly and kissed her. This time, no fireworks went off, maybe because she had finally gotten used to the sensation. She didn't melt into pudding that could easily integrate itself into the city's sewerage system and there was no fight for victory — no quest for domination. It just felt simple, like how Videl would have expected a kiss to feel.

A few moments later, Videl wordlessly gave chase to the police officer with a grin on her face.

…


	8. Chapter 8

"I have to say, that helmet of yours certainly doesn't make things any easier for my nose," said Videl as the pair snuggled on the grassy floor of the secluded spot they had been meeting at for weeks now.

"I don't really think Bulma designed it for kissing," said Saiyaman with a grin. "I think it was more for stopping bullets and all that."

"You're bulletproof anyway," whined Videl. "You just like trying to be Mr. Mysterious, don't you?"

"I never said it wasn't fun," said Saiyaman. "And besides, bullets are still pretty annoying y'know? They might not be able to break through my skin but they're still travelling at incredible velocities."

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," shrugged Videl as she playfully tried to worm her hands around Saiyaman's helmet in order to finally lift the damn thing off.

He swatted them away. "That's not true. Or well I suppose it is, but at a certain point what doesn't kill you offers you such a little increase in strength that it's best to just not get hurt in the first place at all."

She rolled her eyes. "You're such a dork, y'know that?"

Saiyaman blinked momentarily. "That's probably my mum's fault. As a kid, when I wasn't running away from dinosaurs, I was knee deep in textbooks."

"Christ, you're already super strong and now you're telling me you're really intelligent too?" asked Videl, her eyes wide. She wasn't sure she could have chosen a weirder person to be her pretend boyfriend if she tried.

"Well, I'm not sure I'd say I'm anywhere near as smart as I am strong but I did pretty well in high school," shrugged Saiyaman.

"Uh-huh! I knew you were at least eighteen," said Videl with a grin. "Now at least I won't have to 'cuff myself once this is all over."

"Once this is over?" he asked in confusion. "That's a little pessimistic, don't you think?"

"You're right… my dad always used to say that all good things have to come to an end or something," said Videl, fumbling to try and cover her slip. "Err… anyway, which school did you go to? I'd really get irritated if I found out you were in my year at Orange Star."

He chuckled a little deeper than usual. "You're going to have to try a little harder than that."

"Oh really?" asked Videl with a grin on her face as she pounced upon him. She pinned him down to the grass with ease, the superhero not resisting in the slightest. With enough vigour to kill an elephant, the black-haired girl's red lips came crashing down upon her partner's own.

She paused, before wincing slightly. "That helmet really is a pain in the ass, y'know that? Why don't you try covering your face with something a little softer?"

"I was toying around with a white bandana but I decided against it," he shrugged. "This helmet is as much Saiyaman as I am."

There was some truth to his words. As desperate as she still was to see what lurked underneath, she knew that once he was unmasked he would never be the same person to her.

However, as she tried to manoeuvre her way around his mouth without coming into contact with said orange helmet, she reasoned that might not be such a bad thing.

…

"So you're pretty serious about that whole martial arts tournament thing, aren't you?" asked Saiyaman, suddenly sitting up.

Videl snorted. "Serious? There isn't much in the world that would mean more to me than knocking my father out in the final. Fighting is the one thing that I have lived and breathed for the last fifteen years of my life. I used to watch my dad in exhibition matches when I was little and he had me learning how to throw a punch before I could even count to twenty."

"The competition's a little different these days," said Saiyaman. "I've never really thought about entering but I am a fan of the competition. Or at least of what it used to be. King Choppa… Jackie Chun… they all had some pretty cultured and interesting fighting styles."

"I get what you're saying," said Videl, a little surprised to find herself agreeing with someone for once. "There were all kinds of fancy things that went down in those days. Dinosaurs, beams of energy, aliens and hell… the last two finals from that era took place in the air."

"I suppose it's only logical that the officials changed up the entry requirements and tightened down on the rules," said Saiyaman, nodding to himself. "The floor kept getting blown up. Still, though, I think if you took any of the champions from the days before the tournament was discontinued and placed them in a ring with the modern champions… well, there wouldn't even be much of a contest."

"So I suppose that's where the roots of all your so called _tricks_ come from," said Videl. "You're a student of the old school martial arts. Hmmm, I knew I wasn't crazy when I was reminded of the Crane School when I first saw you fly."

"You know what the Crane School is?" asked Saiyaman in surprise. "I thought you said your dad taught you how to fight."

"He did but what little girl doesn't enjoy going through her dad's old tape collection? Especially when that collection is full of old martial arts tournaments?" said Videl with a shrug.

"Heh, my mum never let me watch…" The rest of the sentence died on Saiyaman's tongue, prompting Videl to realise that he must have said something he shouldn't have. But what?

An awkward silence enveloped the two for a minute or two before Videl decided to do something about it.

"So are you going to teach me to fly or what?"

…

Tonight was the big night. Her father's fiftieth birthday.

Videl had spared no expense in organising the party. Initially, she had thought of holding it at another venue but her mind soon settled on hosting an extravagant night in their very own mansion. Tempting as it was to arrange the event to be a surprise party, she doubted that she'd be able to sneak in the necessary food and decor to feed and impress over a hundred people.

The catering for the event had been pawned off to Erasa. Sharpener had offered to lend her a hand with organising and setting up the mansion earlier in the day and her father - at her own behest - had spent the day in his private jet, eating niche food, as he visited exotic beaches with his girlfriend. However, that was only the cherry plateaued on the cake: the real event was the dinner party that had taken up the better part of Videl's last week to arrange. If she hadn't set aside the time to train by herself and meet up once or twice with Saiyaman, she might have gone mad.

_He_ was also supposed to be in attendance tonight. Videl hadn't really brought up the topic much since inviting him but she hoped that the caped crusader would at least show his face. It was an idea that had been as rash as it was spontaneous. Saiyaman simultaneously both longed for and disliked attention so there was no real telling whether he'd fancy catching the eye of every guest with his fancy cape and ridiculous helmet.

She regretted not bringing up the topic again but her recent encounters with her boyfriend had been spent discussing her quest for flight or lack thereof. He had explained that she wasn't ready yet but that he was more than happy to teach her if it was what she truly wanted.

The hours ticked by and guests poured in by the dozen. Her father's business partners, rivals, former opponents and many more fair weather friends all trickled through the grand double doors which marked the entrance to their biggest dining hall but there was no helmet wearing goofball anywhere in sight.

"Forget about making small talk," Erasa advised. "You have to go find him. Him making an appearance here would definitely seal the deal in everybody else's eyes and can you imagine how Azel would react to seeing you in Saiyaman's arms?"

Videl agreed reluctantly. By her count, she still had a little less than an hour before her father was due to make his appearance and Erasa was more than capable of making sure the entire mansion didn't turn upside down given that all the preparations were already in place.

So she began her search.

"Ah, there she is. All grown up and as pretty as her mother in her heydey!"

Videl hadn't taken more than twenty steps before she attracted the attention of an old family friend. She politely greeted the woman before excusing herself in a hurry.

The entire mansion was open for perusal so Videl reasoned that Saiyaman could be anywhere. He could fly after all, so it wasn't entirely ridiculous to imagine that he had snuck in through one of the numerous back doors and was currently showing off new poses to some mildly amused guests.

After a few more encounters, Videl resorted to simply weaving her way through the crowd in a hurry - ducking and dodging all kinds of people looking to chit chat without a second thought - as she scoured the entire mansion for her fellow crimefighter. But for all her efforts, he was nowhere to be seen.

Eventually, she settled for a glass of champagne and stepped outside by the pools to take a breather. As she sipped on her flute, a figure approached and her heart might as well have lurched from her body. Finally, after hours of waiting, he was here!

"You look awfully happy to see me," said Azel as he brushed at the shoulder of the elegant black suit he was wearing. Videl privately admitted to herself that for such an asshat, he did look pretty good in a suit. Or maybe that was just the champagne talking.

"I wouldn't get my hopes too high if I were you," retorted Videl as her face fell. "I was just scratching at an itch."

"If you say so," he teased. "I'd have thought it's a little early into the night to crack open the champagne. Aren't you meant to be the hostess or something?"

"I'm not some pansy who can't handle half a glass of champagne," said Videl. "Although I wouldn't expect you to understand that. You'd probably be too scared of upsetting daddy to go anywhere near a glass of alcohol until you're thirty-five."

"Some people take pleasure in indulging their vices. Others are more sensible," said Azel. "Unlike you, I do actually care about the perceptions other people have of me."

"Oh really?" asked Videl as she rolled her eyes. "Do tell. In which ways am I careless about my social image? Was it that one time where I helped evacuate a kindergarten during a fire or the other where I arrested some old lady's purse-snatcher?"

"Your whole crime fighting agenda might impress the masses but believe me, making out with some nutcase in a green tunic on national television does you no favours," said Azel. "Your obsession with playing the hero isn't going to be an asset when it backfires on you and suddenly you're left wishing that you had left the tangling with criminals to the professionals."

"Right, and don't you just have the greatest rep in the world? Anyone that isn't hoping to stick your father's hundred dollar bills up their rear knows that you're just a snobby rich boy."

"You live your life in the media. To the public, you're an open book but I'm an unknown entity," said Azel. "With you, they see the good _and_ the bad. With me, they just see a young man destined for greatness."

"You can keep telling yourself that but it won't make it true," said Videl as she rolled her eyes. "Now, if you're done rubbing your nose in my fac-"

"You've got somewhere to be? Someone to meet?" asked Azel rhetorically. "You didn't answer my first question anyway. What are you doing all the way out here? I'm sure that even you understand that you don't host a party by running into a corner and hiding from all the guests."

"I was taking a break from looking for _my boyfriend_ ," said Videl, deciding that if Saiyaman wasn't going to show up, she could at least ruin Azel's mood.

The look of utter incomprehension that crossed the young heir's face as Videl finished her sentence was to die for but it didn't take him long to recover. "Well, what did you expect? The guy wears an action-figure helmet to conceal his identity; obviously, he's not that trustworthy. I wouldn't bet on him showing up at all. In fact, he would probably feel very out of place if he did."

"Some people care more about the simple things in life - like helping other people - than climbing the social ladder," said Videl, trying to avoid getting too carried way. The verbal dance that ensued every time they came face to face with each other was almost tradition at this stage. "I wouldn't expect you to really understand that with all the nonsense Old Man Mackenzie's been spoonfeeding you since you were in diapers."

"That's a little rich coming from someone who lives in an expensive mansion with her own selection of maids waiting on her," said Azel. "You love to ride your little moral high horse but in reality - when all the cameras go away - you're no better than the rest of us."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," shrugged Videl before deciding to walk away. She'd stepped outside to relax and take a deep breath. Talking to Azel was the very antithesis of that.

It was quite nice out. The sun had set hours ago and there was a light breeze but it wasn't so chilly that Videl regretted her choice of attire. She glanced at her phone to check the time and was pleased to discover that her dad still wasn't due to rock up for at least another twenty minutes.

Videl decided that the best spot to head would be the garden. The inside of the mansion felt like a claustrophobic nightmare and there were still too many people lingering outside in the courtyard. So she lifted her dress with both hands - one still tightly clasped on her glass of champagne - and began to frantically walk towards their almost deserted garden, Saiyaman all but forgotten. There were still a few people here and there, at a party this big that was simply inevitable, but none that Videl knew personally so she remained undisturbed during her journey.

Pleased to finally get a little bit of space to herself, Videl was understandably vexed when she bumped into a gigantic hulk of a man. Perhaps she was exaggerating; the man dwarfed her so it was only natural that it hurt but his bones felt as though they were made of stone. Miraculously, she managed to avoid spilling the rest of her champagne although she chalked that down to the fact that her step wasn't quite as steady as it normally was.

"Sorry about that," said the culprit. Well, maybe that was unfair, she was the one who had walked into him.

"It's fine," said Videl, taking a moment to fix her dishevelled hair. The last thing she needed was to hear Erasa shriek about how she had ruined hours of her good work. "What are you doing all the way out here? Everyone's back in the house."

"I don't really know any of the people in there," shrugged the stranger. He was rather tall - well, on second thought, most people were tall to Videl - and was wearing a suit that didn't really fit. Nothing really stuck out to Videl but it was easy to recognise that something was amiss because most of the men she was unfortunate enough to spend time with tended to wear custom suits that were tailor made to their individual bodies.

"Heh neither do I and I'm the one throwing the party," said Videl. "So what's your name? I'm sorry if I'm meant to know it; I'm horrible with names."

"Gohan," said the man in the suit that didn't quite fit. "Son Gohan."

Noting with interest that the mysterious man shared the same name as a famous, old martial artist, Videl smiled a little. "That's a nice name. Traditional."

"Yeah, my family doesn't exactly come from a big city," said Gohan. "So what about you? What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be trying to be the life of the party or something?"

"I've been looking all over the place for my boyfriend. He's meant to be here tonight but I've not seen heads or tails of him so I decided to come out here and take a little break from all of that." Videl gestured back towards the brightly lit mansion. Next, she pointed towards a nearby bench. "I've got about twenty minutes so why don't you help me nurse the bump on my head and tell me a bit more about you."

He shrugged before taking her invitation and sitting down. She joined him.

"So how do your parents know my dad? Business associates or something?" asked Videl.

"They don't," said Gohan before explaining upon seeing Videl's look of confusion. "My mum's a housewife and my dad passed eight years ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," said Videl sympathetically. That probably explained why the suit didn't fit him. "So how'd you wind up here then… if you don't mind me asking? Sorry, I'm not really one for social etiquette."

"You invited me," replied Gohan. "I was a little sceptical at first: the biggest party I've ever been to was thrown by one of my dad's friends, but I decided to try something new."

"Huh, well my friend Eras…" Suddenly it dawned on Videl. "You're Saiyaman, aren't you?"

"What I ditch the mask and the cape and you don't recognise me?" he teased, wearing the grin that she'd had to imagine behind a ridiculous orange helmet for weeks.

"I wasn't expecting you to be so… different," said Videl. "I was expecting a goofball in a green tunic, not a guy in a suit."

"Disappointed?" he asked with a frown.

"Not yet," she responded. "Thanks for coming, though. I really appreciate it. I honestly wasn't even sure if you'd show."

"Neither was I but I figured that eventually the helmet would have to come off," said Gohan. "If we're going to keep on going and everything after this, that is."

"Oh… uhh, of course we are," said Videl, a little ashamed to have given him reason to doubt that. "We should probably be careful not to get too chummy with each other when you're in plain clothes. Since I'm dating 'Saiyaman', we wouldn't want me to be caught cheating on him with you." It worked to her advantage too. It meant that she didn't have to keep up the romance thing with the guy the whole time. As long as 'Gohan' didn't suspect anything, she wouldn't have to put the moves on him while they were both in plain clothes or anything else Erasa would inevitably suggest.

"Oh… um… yeah, I didn't really think about that," said Gohan. "Those tabloids that you hate so much would have a field day."

"So what's say I take you to the main event and get you something to drink?" asked Videl. "Your cover story is that you're an old classmate of mine from Orange Star High."

"What if we bump into any of your classmates?"

"This is my dad's party, not mine silly," said Videl. "I'm sorry to have to disappoint you but all you're going to find in there is a bunch of celebrities who will be too up themselves to spare you a second glance and some old guys."

"Lead the way Ms. Satan," he said almost patronisingly in his 'Saiyaman voice'.

For his troubles, she handed him her empty flute so she could again lift up her dress as they trudged their way back to the house. "So I've got to ask. Why the superhero getup?"

"I already told you before. I'm not really one for all the fame and attention that comes with the cape so it's important to me that I can turn all that off," said Gohan. He waved his arms around, gesturing down the well-lit path and to the mansion. "All this isn't really me. I'm not sure I've ever seen so many people in one place before."

"I can see what you mean," said Videl, looking back over her shoulder to meet his eyes. "You should know that it's not all bad, though. I mean sure, people love to make up rumours, and sometimes the press can get on your back, but with a mask on I don't think I'd get to hear the stories of the people I've helped… those I've inspired and all of that. It's helpful sometimes to know that you're really making a difference out there."

"I guess I never thought about it like that," said Gohan. "I've always just helped out because it was the right thing to do. It's just how my dad raised me."

"He sounds like he was a good man," said Videl. "Sometimes I wish I could say the same thing about my dad with certainty but I'll never be able to fault his love for me. He can be a little overprotective at times but he always means well."

"Sounds a little like my mum," said Gohan. "Although I know for a fact that she doesn't approve of that afro."

"Ugh, he's had that thing since I was five," said Videl, screwing her face as they approached the rest of the party again.

The rest of the night seemed to fly by. After her father made his grand appearance, she snuck out of the mansion at every opportunity to go and speak to Gohan who had decided to take refuge in the courtyard. She figured that he didn't exactly want to spend the evening cooped up inside with a bunch of people he didn't know.

Azel had shown up again to taunt her once or twice about her 'caped saviour' not showing but with her having gotten the chance to finally meet the man under the helmet, he didn't succeed in his attempts to rile her up. From the sceptical look Erasa had shot her upon departure as the party was starting to wind down, she had figured something was up. With a nod that promised she'd explain later, Videl bid her farewell and turned her attention back to her now unmasked crime fighting partner only to discover that he too had vanished into the night.

Deciding that it was probably a good thing - she didn't want to arouse suspicion and since there were only a few people left around the grounds that was inevitable now - Videl stifled a yawn before figuring it was probably a good idea to retire for the night too.

With one final look up to the skyline, she pondered what the future held for her and 'Gohan' before heading up to her bedroom.

...


End file.
